JOURNAL OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STUDIES

JOURNALOF EASTERNCARIBBEAN

STUDIES

Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies

Vol. 37, No.3 &

4, September/D

ecember 2012

CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE

TOURISM, CULTURE and THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: EXPLORING THE LINKAGES

Guest Editor: Leslie-Ann Jordan

Articles Page

IntroductionLeslie-Ann Jordan 1

REDjet Airborne: Policy Implications for Intra-Regional Travel, Air Transport and Caribbean Tourism Development

Wayne Soverall 6

Gathering Festival Statistics: Theoretical Platforms and their Relevance to Building a Global Rubric

Jo-anne Tull 40

Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica: An exploratoryanalysis

Densil Williams and Lesley Hare 71

Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels through theLens of Entertainment Coordinators: An application of Butler’sTheory of Performativity to the study of Creative Industries

Dalea Bean and Andrew Spencer 97

Assessing the Potential of Diaspora TourismSherma Roberts 115

Commentary

Towards Defining Culinary Tourism in the CaribbeanMarcia Taylor and Clive Muir 133

Contributors 141

Call for Papers - JECS 143

Vol. 37, No.3 & 4, September/December 2012

Editorial Staff

Editor-in-Chief Dr. Judy WhiteheadManaging Editor Dr. Don MarshallPublications Secretary Ms. Jacqueline Thompson (Ag)

Editorial Advisory Board

Prof. Sir Hilary Beckles Principal, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner City College of New York, USAProf. Sir Howard Fergus Former Resident Tutor and Head, UWI, School of Continuing Studies,

Montserrat

Editorial Committee

Prof. Eudine Barriteau Deputy Pricipal, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosMrs. Cynthia Barrow-Giles Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Curwen Best Faculty of Humanities and Education, UWI, Cave Hill Campus,

BarbadosMiss Beverley Hinds Documentalist, SALISES, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Nlandu Mamingi Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosMr. Ivan Waterman Consultant, Barbados

The Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies (JECS) is the leading social science journal covering theEastern Caribbean area. It is published quarterly by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and EconomicStudies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in March, June, September and December.Established in 1975 as the Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs, it was upgraded to a full peer reviewacademic journal from Volume 22, 1997. The JECS is concerned with critical and methodological

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© 2012 All rights reserved.Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

ISSN: 1028-8813

Dr. Len Ishmael Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, St. LuciaProf. Simon Jones-Hendrickson University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, USVIProf. Andy Knight University of Alberta, CanadaSir Alister McIntyre Former Vice Chancellor, UWI, JamaicaProf. Bishnodat Persaud Former Director, UWI, Centre for

Environment Development, JamaicaProf. Robert Potter University of Reading, United KingdomProf. Rhoda Reddock UWI,

Trinidad & TobagoProf. Selwyn Ryan SALISES, UWI, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & TobagoSir Dwight Venner Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, St. Kitts and NevisDr. DeLisle Worrell Governor, Central Bank of Barbados

Institute of Gender and Development Studies,

inquiries into the political, social, economical, business and environmental challenges of Eastern Caribbeancountries and small states.

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Information for Contributors

Presentation

Most articles submitted for publication should be less than 9000 words, with an abstract of no more than 100 words, setting out the main concerns and findings along with key words of the article. Authors should submit:

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REFERENCES

References to other publications should be cited thus:a. References to articles:

Author’s name (last name followed by initials or first names); the year of publication in brackets; the title of the article (in single quotation marks); the name of the publication (in italics); volume number; issue number (in brackets) followed by a colon; then the page numbers. For an article in a newspaper:The name of the newspaper; the year (in brackets); the title of the article (in single quotation marks); the day and month (in brackets) followed by a colon; then the page number (s).

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The Editorial staff reserves the right to make any corrections or alterations considered necessary. Authors willreceive two complimentary copies of the Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies.

CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE



Articles Page

Introduction Leslie-Ann Jordan 1

REDjet Airborne: Policy Implications for Intra-Regional Travel, Air Transport and Caribbean Tourism Development Wayne Soverall 6 Gathering Festival Statistics: Theoretical Platforms and their Relevance to Building a Global Rubric Jo-anne Tull 40

Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica: An exploratory analysis Densil Williams and Lesley Hare 71

Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels through theLens of Entertainment Coordinators: An application of Butler’sTheory of Performativity to the study of Creative Industries Dalea Bean and Andrew Spencer 97

Assessing the Potential of Diaspora Tourism Sherma Roberts 115

Commentary

Towards Defining Culinary Tourism in the Caribbean Marcia Taylor and Clive Muir 133

Contributors 141


Vol. 37, Nos. 3 and 4, September/December 2012 pp 1-5

Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Exploring the Linkages

Leslie-Ann JordanGuest Editor

Many countries have identified tourism as an engine of growth that has the potential to contribute to the economic, socio-cultural and environmental fabric of society. Similarly, the cultural and creative industries’ intrinsic value is well established - but increasingly the creative industries have been recognised for its significant economic impact and for enabling business across a wide range of economic sectors. Within recent years, understanding and research on the cultural and creative industries have grown exponentially and more and more destinations are realising that in order to re-engineer their tourism products, a stronger link between tourism, culture and the creative industries is needed. Notwithstanding the fact that the boundaries of creative industries have not been clearly defined, what has been established is a solid foundation for the nexus among these three areas.

It is against this background that the theme for the University of the West Indies second International Tourism Conference held at the St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad from January 18th-21st, 2012 was appropriately identified as ‘Tourism, Culture and the Creative Industries: Exploring the Linkages’. The main focus of the conference was to examine the potential links between tourism, culture and the creative industries and how such connections can contribute to a destination’s economic, social and human development. Ultimately, the intention was that this conference will in some way contribute to cross-disciplinary dialogues in tourism, culture and the creative industries which can advance knowledge and practice. It was with this in mind that participants were invited to submit papers that represented diverse perspectives on the links between tourism and music, heritage, media, festivals, religion, film and culture.

Copyright © Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, UWI, (Cave Hill), 2012

2 Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies

A total of sixty five (65) abstracts were received which examined five (5) core themes including Tourism and Festivals; Tourism and Heritage; Tourism and Culture; Tourism and the Creative Industries and; Tourism and Development. The papers presented on the theme of Tourism and Festivals explored two main issues – the greening of festivals and the socio-economic impacts of various types of festivals. The papers on the former examined the sustainable environmental initiatives in the operation of various festivals and provided key characteristics of green festivals with the purpose of increasing the recognition of this new way of sustainability practice in the music and arts festivals. In terms of the latter, the economic impacts of festivals were discussed in the Bahamas and the socio-cultural implications of gospel festivals and Indian cultural festivals were also explored.

The general focus of the papers presented on Tourism and Heritage was the built heritage as opposed to what would be considered living heritage. Emphasis was placed on how various sites can be developed and managed as sustainable tourism products. Ushuaia in Argentina, Povoa Dao Village in Argentina and various Hindu Temples in Trinidad were identified as potential sites for tourism development. In addition to potential sites, one paper presented findings on visitors’ perceptions of slavery at two established sugar heritage sites in Barbados and St. Lucia.

The relationship between Tourism and Culture and Tourism and the Creative Industries were approached from diverse perspectives. At the core of the former was the extent to which the culture of the destination can be developed and packaged into a cultural tourism product while maintaining its authenticity. Destinations investigated included Dominica and the celebration of Creole; Trinidad and the Indian religions; Haiti, Cuba and Trinidad and the preservation of the African traditional religions. The Creative Industries captured a range of issues from the entrepreneurial potential of the indigenous soca music and the conventional steelbands of Trinidad and Tobago to the film industry in Trinidad and Dominica.

The theme of Tourism and Development captured a number of papers that focused on different potential tourism products that can be developed in order to aid in the diversification of mass tourism in several developing countries. Although not strictly considered part of culture or the creative

3Introduction

industries, the identified niche products of culinary tourism, sport tourism and educational tourism allowed participants to consider other linkages as viable options.

Four (4) Research Papers and one (1) Discussion Paper were selected for this issue that captures the essence of the theme of the conference as well as the focus of the Journal. In addition an essay was commissioned by Sherma Roberts examining the potential contribution of diaspora tourism through exploration of concept and policy.

The paper entitled ‘REDjet Airborne: Policy Implications for Intra-Regional Travel, Air Transport and Caribbean Tourism Development’ by Wayne Soverall was nominated for the conference Best Paper Award as it presents a comprehensive discussion and analysis of the challenges facing the airline industry in the Caribbean. This paper examined the impact on intra-regional tourism that the introduction of REDjet had and it also highlights the challenges that the low-cost carrier (LCC) encountered in the face of the existing legislative and regulatory framework governing the airline industry. A discussion of these issues is timely as Soverall comments that ‘...it is imperative that Caribbean governments seek to implement innovative approaches that enhance tourism development, increase airlift and passenger traffic within the region by providing affordable air fares.’

Next Jo-anne Tull presents a summary on the key perspectives of measuring the value of festivals to host societies. In her paper ‘Gathering Festival Statistics: Theoretical Platforms and their Relevance to Building a Global Rubric’, she explores whether it is possible to develop a global rubric or framework for collecting festival statistics given that the current collection of such data is diverse and different across the world. It is also because of this diversity that she argues for the establishment of a framework that will enable festival data to be more comparable and that would ‘...lend to standardisation of the process of gathering and compiling festival data; contribute to an improvement in validity, consistency, accuracy and reliability across several countries and regions worldwide; as well as encourage through its usage globally an overall improvement in the appreciation and understanding of the role of festival statistics beyond tourism.’


Then, in the paper ‘Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica: An Exploratory Analysis’, Densil Williams and Lesley Hare examined some of the major drivers of competitiveness, such as innovation, benchmarking, operation at international standards of quality, leadership and knowledge of their industry to assess the level of competitiveness of small hotels in Jamaica, which constitute a significant component of the country’s hotel industry. Their findings revealed that the majority of small hotels from the sample (11 hotels) were not competitive and this resulted in the majority of them not being able to operate profitably over the 6-year period under review. In order to survive in today’s marketplace, the authors suggested that these small hotels should not try to compete based solely on price but refocus their competitive strategy towards differentiation and the development of unique products/services.

Dalea Bean and Andrew Spencer contribute a new perspective on gender perceptions in the entertainment industry in hotels in Jamaica, in their paper ‘Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels through the lens of Entertainment Coordinators: An application of Butler’s theory of Performativity to the study of Creative Industries.’ They conducted interviews with entertainment coordinators in Jamaican hotels and concluded that to a large extent, guests’ contentment with the work of entertainment coordinators, which is critical to their satisfaction with the hotel’s entertainment product, was directly linked to the performance of accepted gender norms. Their research also found that ‘...hetero-normative roles tend to affect female coordinators more than male, while hospitality gender normativity creates a space where both male and females are expected to engage in emotional labour and where theatrical behaviour associated with male homosexuality is acceptable for male coordinators.’

Sherma Roberts assesses the potential of diaspora tourism. She emphasised the possibilities for investment in the social infrastructure on the part of the diaspora tourist but warn against marketing strategies and policy prescriptives bereft of an understanding of the heterogeneity, indentities and selectivism of diaspora people.

Finally, Marcia Taylor and Clive Muir discuss culinary tourism in, ‘Towards Defining Culinary Tourism in the Caribbean.’ It addresses the definition and marketing of culinary tourism in the Caribbean, as well as the types of

5Introduction

culinary amenities and programs offered. They define culinary tourism as ‘...travel for the purpose of experiencing the culinary cultures of an area through visiting local restaurants, attending cooking classes, attending cultural festivals, visiting markets and farms, and related activities at the destination.’ After discussions with stakeholders in St. Maarten and Jamaica, the authors concluded that ‘...culinary tourism products need to be better developed’ and ‘...the islands must conduct substantial research and product development similar to what is done in other destinations if they expect to seriously compete in this travel market and provide the sophisticated experiences that culinary enthusiasts expect at destinations around the world.’


REDjet Airborne: Policy Implications for Intra-Regional Travel, Air Transport and Caribbean

Tourism Development

Wayne SoverallDepartment of Management Studies

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Barbados

Abstract

The bold initiative of REDjet to establish a low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Caribbean immediately captured the public’s attention because it literally meant that everyone could afford to fly. First, it represented, perhaps, the best opportunity to date to transform tourism’s outdated legislative and regulatory framework to facilitate genuine competition. Second, and more importantly, the low cost air fares generated an immediate ‘REDjet effect’ by stimulating a significant increase in intra-regional travel which had steadily declined by over 25% since 2005. Third, for too long, the regulatory framework had failed to keep pace with the demands of the travelling public for lower air fares and innovative changes that were needed to revitalise Caribbean tourism development. Fourth, REDjet’s innovative business model needed support as the first designated carrier of Barbados since the existence of Caribbean Airways in the 1970s. Fifth, it was no secret that intra-regional travel in the Caribbean had been adversely affected by a lack of competition in general and, the high cost of air fares in particular, yet very little policy action had been taken to reverse this situation. Sixth, although regional tourism accounted for 18% of GDP and 34% of employment, a lack of airlift remained a major challenge for Caribbean governments, especially Barbados which is among the top ten countries in the world that are most dependent


7REDjet Airborne

on tourism for its economic survival. This exploratory paper therefore examines these policy issues within the context that the Caribbean is dependent on tourism, it was the only region in the world without an LCC and, it had suffered reductions in travel when all other regions experienced significant growth. Given these realities and the debilitating impact of the current global economic recession, it was imperative that Caribbean governments implemented innovative approaches that enhanced tourism development, and increased both airlift and passenger traffic within the region by providing affordable air fares. Key words: low-cost carrier, regulatory framework, innovative business model


Introduction

The bold initiative of REDjet to establish a low-cost carrier (LCC) in Barbados in the Caribbean immediately captured the public’s attention because it literally meant that everyone could afford to fly. The arrival of the region’s first LCC fundamentally challenged the traditional pricing structure and high air fares that characterised the Caribbean which was described as the most-travelled and tourism-intensive region in the world (Barbados Business Authority, January 30, 2012). Thus, Barbados was viewed from the perspective of a small island state that was dependent on tourism for its economic survival and, therefore air transport was of particular importance, especially since it had no designated carrier and its airlift was at the mercy of the market. In this context, the promised benefits of liberalisation, such as more operators, more routes, lower air fares and greater consumer choice all held great promise (Coleman, 2008). Indeed, empirical evidence indicated that the economic impact from travel and tourism equaled 14% of gross domestic product (GDP), 13 % of employment, 12% of investment, 17% of exports, and directly employed 2.2 million people in the Caribbean (World Bank, 2005). Moreover, of the ten countries in the world that were most dependent on tourism, seven were in the Caribbean, and the contribution of travel and tourism to the Caribbean’s GDP was estimated to total US$70.7 billion by 2021, an increase from US$48.6 billion in 2011.

In the literature, there was very little published research on the benefits of an LCC operating in the Caribbean and more importantly, the policy implications of such an LCC for intra-regional travel, air transport and Caribbean tourism. This exploratory research paper therefore sought to fill this gap in the literature. The research aimed to advance understanding of the need for an LCC in the Caribbean, the practical benefits to be derived from such an operation, and the applied significance for policy makers, particularly in the areas of intra-regional travel, air transport policy and Caribbean tourism in general. The purpose of the paper was to explore whether the entry of an LCC in the Caribbean had actually made a difference to intra-regional travel, whether it reduced air fares and encouraged more travel among Caribbean nationals, and whether Caribbean policy makers were inclined to transform outdated legislation and regulatory practices that hindered the entry of an LCC in the Caribbean.

9REDjet Airborne

Literature Review

The wave of airline deregulation created a worldwide phenomenon – low cost carriers (LCCs). The successful introduction of LCC operations in all developed, many transitional economies, as well as many developing countries, has led to increases in passenger numbers that have had a significant impact in each country and region where it has occurred (Coleman, 2008). The impact, in each case, has led to substantial and measurable increases in tourism revenue, employment, GDP, efficiency, better decision making, as well as lower costs and improved customer choice through lower air fares.

Several studies have been conducted which analysed the international development of the low-cost airline model by examining and characterising the factors that encouraged and inhibited the spatial and temporal spread of LCCs (World Bank, 2006; Graham, Humphreys, Ison and Aicken, 2006; Holder, 2010; IATA Report, 2007; World Travel and Tourism Council, 2006). The LCC model revolutionised modes of travel and offered passengers an option to travel at reduced air fares as a result of the competition that it provided. In addition, it allowed the carrier to avoid many of the traditional costs associated with air travel. Some of the major issues in this regard included the cost of fuel, the provision of subsidies by governments, the ownership and control of airlines by governments, and the inherent conflict of interest that ensued when governments function as both regulators and owners in the airlines marketplace (Sunday Sun, 2012). These issues were particularly true in the case of the Caribbean region where entry to the market has proven to be very difficult at best and prohibitive at worst. Given the importance of air transport to the Caribbean’s travel and tourism development, the World Bank’s Caribbean Air Transport study (2006) examined, among other issues, LCCs and their relevance to the region, air transportation cost structures, government subsidies, the CARICOM Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA), and Open Skies Agreements of regional countries with the USA. However, the insights provided and the recommendations that were suggested were never implemented and regional air transport was none the better for the exercise.

A typology of LCCs developed over the years which illustrated the diversity of practices that were identifiable under the generic low-cost banner. Different stages of development can thus be identified with respect to time and the


development of LCC operations in different countries across the globe such as Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, US, Vietnam, and Yemen (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List). In addition, the economic and political impacts of the spread of the LCC model as well as its sustainability and future patterns of growth can be considered. Low-cost carriers were increasingly attracting a market segment traditionally associated with legacy airlines, namely, the business traveler (Martinez-Garcia, Ferrer-Rosell and Coenders, 2011; Evangelho, Huse and Linhares, 2004). This study analysed the differences between business and leisure travelers flying by low-cost airlines in Europe. The results found that while some differential characteristics emerged between the traveler types, there were still more similarities.

In the case of Brazil, a recent study indicated that after just three years in operation, low-cost entrant Gol captured 20% of the domestic market which indicated that there was segmentation in the business travel market (Evangelho, Huse and Linhares, 2004). The results also suggested that the preference for traditional airlines was largely a matter of culture of larger organisations, rather than a reflection of any type of prejudice concerning the low-cost model. Moreover, the results compared favourably with similar studies conducted with UK business travelers. To date, the Caribbean is the one remaining region yet to experience the global phenomenon of the low-cost carrier and to explore the kind of analysis associated with the low-cost model and areas of interest such as the entry of an LCC in the region or the segmentation of the market between business and leisure travelers. This research study was conducted with the aim of bridging the current gap in knowledge and adding value to the low-cost airline literature. It is within this context, therefore, that this paper explored the entry of REDjet as an LCC in Barbados and the Caribbean region and argued that it made a positive contribution to tourism development by increasing airlift capacity, introducing an innovative business model, and ultimately spurring competition which encouraged traditional legacy carriers to provide more affordable air fares for business and leisure travelers, even though short-lived.

11REDjet Airborne

Method

The collection of primary data for this research paper was prohibitive because of the competitive nature of the airline industry and the aura of secrecy that characterised its practice in the Caribbean. Data sharing was not commonly practiced because it was perceived as providing information to competitors who may use it to their competitive advantage. As a consequence, the author was obliged to honour and to safeguard the confidentiality of data provided by policy makers, air transport and tourism industry practitioners during interviews, except in those cases where the interviewees gave explicit permission to use the data for this research study. Given these challenges and constraints, the author used a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative data analysis which was bolstered by the use of secondary sources of data comprising articles, books, journals, magazines, newspaper articles and periodicals in order to complete this study.

Economic Impact of Low-Cost Carrier (LCC)

A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-fare airline (LFA) also known as a no-frills, discount, budget carrier or cheap flight airline is an airline that generally has lower air fares and fewer comforts (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-cost carrier). In order to compensate for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge for extras like food, priority boarding, seat allocating, and baggage, etc. The term LCC has its origins within the airline industry and refers to airlines with a lower operating cost structure than their competitors. However, while the term is often applied to any carrier with low ticket prices and limited services, regardless of their operating models, LCCs should not be confused with regional carriers that operate short flights without service, or with full-service airlines offering some reduced air fares. Despite common practices shared by LCCs, their business model practices vary widely. Thus, some practices are more common in certain regions, while others are generally universal. In general, the common theme among all LCCs is the reduction of cost and reduced overall fares compared to legacy carriers. The LCC model has been proven to be the most successful model in aviation. Since 2001, LCCs led the market in terms of profitability and passenger growth while many traditional airlines suffered severe losses and passenger


declines. The first LCC to create a global economic impact was Southwest Airlines. In 1971, Southwest began operation in the United States and led the LCC revolution by being a major inspiration to other LCCs with its business model being copied by many airlines across the globe (Nigam, 2009). Southwest succeeded by doing things radically differently from its competitors. Its mission was to provide affordable air travel to those who would not normally fly. To this end, its strategy was unique in two ways – it focused on short haul travelers by providing air fares as low as one third of their competitors and it utilised a point-to-point system rather than the traditional hub-and-spoke flight routing method of most other airlines. Shorter flight times enabled it to provide an average of 12 flights per day compared to the industry average of 1 or 2 flights per day. Moreover, Southwest’s competitive strategy maximised utilisation of aircraft and employee productivity with low unit costs by reducing aircraft turnaround time, particularly at the gate. It also saved time and resources in training its employees by using the 737 as the airplane for all of its flights. In addition, it used secondary airports which generally had lower costs and were more convenient to travelers than the major airports to the same destinations.

In 1993, the US Department of Transportation coined the term ‘the Southwest Effect’ to describe the significant increase in air travel that invariably resulted from Southwest’s entry into new markets or a similar impact from other airlines (US Department of Transportation, 1993). As a result of its low costs, Southwest Airlines has remained profitable for the past 40 years, which is unprecedented in the airline industry. In recent times, Southwest has started to tweak its business model as it continues to take bold steps that are at best unorthodox and at worst heretical (Field, 2008). Its new offerings, from special boarding to special treatment for its highest-paying passengers, represent a reversal of its all flyers are equal type of airborne democracy. Europe’s EasyJet and Ryanair are two of the best known airlines to follow Southwest’s business model. Other airlines with a business model based on Southwest’s system include Canada’s WestJet, Malaysia’s AirAsia, Mexico’s Volaris, Philippines’s Cebu Pacific, Quantas’s Jetstar, Thailand’s Nok Air, and Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines (Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest Airlines).

13REDjet Airborne

REDjet Model

The entry of REDjet as Barbados’ designated carrier and the first LCC in the Caribbean region was approved by the formal issue of an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) on April 15, 2011 after some long bureaucratic delays (Barbados Advocate, April 19, 2011). The airline operated as REDjet and was a startup LCC based at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados (Burns, 2011). The privately-owned airline, which was incorporated as Airone Holdings (St. Lucia) Limited, initially sought to start operations from the Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica. However, it was denied permission by the Jamaican government to operate and, therefore, shifted its operations to Barbados where it applied to the Ministry of International Transport (MIT) for an AOC under the business name Airone Ventures (Barbados) Limited. The idea of starting the company first came about in 2006 after founder Robbie Burns, Business Development Manager, found that airlines in the Caribbean often charged prohibitive air fares and, thus, he decided in mid-2007 with his father, Ian Burns, as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to start an LCC to serve the Caribbean. The company sought to secure licenses across the Caribbean in order to launch the region’s first Pan-Caribbean LCC (Burns, 2011).

The REDjet model was influenced by and patterned after the successful LCC models of Ryanair and Air Asia which were pure no-frills airlines that targeted passengers through ultra low air fares. However, although REDjet followed these two models, it avoided the value added propositions such as loyalty programmes and different classes of seating that only increased cost and complexity, and so it did not have to worry about secondary airports since these were not available in the region. Thus, the key features of the REDjet model were:

Point-to-point flying – no costly or complicated connecting flights;Short-haul routes – flying time ideally within three and one half hours;One class of service – all economy, no differentiation, simple, effective and economical;No-frills – there was no free food or drinks, no loyalty programmes, no seat allocation;Demand and time sensitive prices – a pricing model that benefitted early bookers;


Rapid turnaround times and high asset utilisation – maximised utilisation of aircraft by quick turnaround times and well-managed schedules;Aircraft – REDjet flew a single aircraft family, the Boeing MD-82, and thus simplified the maintenance and training processes;Staff and overheads – REDjet staff was non-unionised and subject to multiple roles and tight cost control measures; Low-cost air fares – REDjet operated on a philosophy that the lowest air fares always won; and Internet and alternative distribution methods – utilising low-cost, high-volume booking methodologies rather than more costly global distribution systems (Burns, 2011).

REDjet operated a true LCC model and not the hybrid reasonable air fare and service oriented airline model that was adopted by other LCCs such as Jetblue and Spirit that flew to the Caribbean from the US (Burns, 2011). REDjet’s processes were streamlined – from boarding to check-in and any service or feature adding complexity or costs were excluded. Rapid turnaround times were rigorously controlled to 30 minutes and the operations plan was designed around Boeing MD-82 aircraft, thus minimising variables that added risk, cost and delays to its operations. Aircraft and passenger handling as well as maintenance were all outsourced. In keeping with the simplicity of its business model, REDjet’s management and operations were housed in a modest open-floor plan office with a noticeable red door at Gate # 4, Perimeter Road, Grantley Adams Industrial Estate, Christ Church.

The REDjet model of low air fares represented a challenge to the traditional legacy carrier model operating in the Caribbean by airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Jetblue, and regional airlines such as Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) and Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT). Although the practices of the LCC business model varied widely, they all shared some common practices which contrasted markedly with the traditional legacy carriers and this translated into costs per seat per mile that, in comparison with traditional airlines, were 30 to 50 per cent lower (Knorr and Zigova, 2004). In fact, a series of events pointed to the contrasting fortunes of legacy carriers and LCCs. First, there was the filing for bankruptcy by American Airlines on November 29, 2011 (Midweek Nation, November 30, 2011); second, there was the suggestion by the CEO of LIAT that REDjet would eventually have to abandon its low-cost model

15REDjet Airborne

if it wanted to continue adding smaller Caribbean islands to its destinations (Challenger, 2011); third, there was the assertion by the CEO of REDjet that it had no plans to change its business model (Burns, 2011); fourth, there was the angry claim by a REDjet investor of political sabotage in order to protect governments’ ownership of LIAT at the expense of entrepreneurial activity undertaken by REDjet (Daily Nation, November 24, 2011); and finally, there was the revelation that REDjet needed USS$4 million to continue its operations (Saturday Sun, November 26, 2011). These evolving issues underscored the uncertain future of fledgling REDjet and provided a stark contrast between the two competing models - LCCs and traditional legacy carriers - as they both struggled for survival in an increasingly unstable economic and political environment.

REDjet Strategy

The Caribbean region has traditionally been viewed as fragmented and too small to attract and sustain profitable air services. In recent times, American Airlines, Spirit and Jetblue launched new services in the region from the US, and with the exception of CAL which recently acquired Air Jamaica as part of a restructuring process, the other state-owned Caribbean carriers lacked the capital base to launch new services or restructure existing operations. Moreover, while CAL earned a U$$33 million profit in 2011 which was attributed in part to government’s generous fuel subsidies, LIAT lost US$23 million in 2011 and over US$30 million in the last two years despite government assistance (Barbados Advocate, February 4, 2012). It is within this context that REDjet was viewed as a beneficial product to the market for which there was a significant demand because of the predominantly prohibitive air fares in the region charged by both of its competitors, namely, CAL and LIAT. Since the Caribbean consumer was extremely price sensitive, REDjet’s strategy offered a true no-frills service based on providing the lowest air fares and the highest levels of operational output or seat production and performance. The strategy did precisely that by facilitating the movement of business and leisure travelers and, more importantly, enhanced the regional integration process by allowing persons to travel and experience the cultures in their neighboring islands.


REDjet’s original plan was to gain licences in both Barbados and the northern Caribbean prior to launch, reduce the cost of air travel in the region by over 60 percent, and open several bases across the region while growing within five years to over 20 aircraft which would enable it to carry over 4 million passengers (Burns, 2011). However, the premise on which this vision was based and the political promises which galvanised this conceptualisation proved to be problematic at best. Nevertheless, REDjet continued to believe that its strategy had the potential to deliver long term strategic cost advantage from a low cost base with first mover advantage in the Caribbean. To this end, it aggressively sought to revolutionise intra-regional travel which was a highly price sensitive commodity by targeting the local market which comprised over 80 percent of leisure travelers, the group that proved to be the most responsive to LCCs across the globe.

The entry of REDjet into the Caribbean market significantly increased customer expectations of low-fare travel. It actually matched those expectations by offering a no-frills product and focused on lowest air fares beginning as low as US$9.99 one way (excluding government taxes and optional charges) on all routes. It flew Boeing MD-82 type aircraft on point-to-point routes based on a strategy to connect the Caribbean, the US and Latin America. The primary goal of REDjet’s strategy was to significantly increase the propensity to travel and, therefore, open the market to the sizeable lower socio-economic population in the region who would be able to afford travel on the basis of lower air fares. Secondly, the strategy aimed to grow the market using low air fares based on the successful low cost models now in practice across the globe, and to provide much needed reliable intra-regional transportation. Table 1 illustrates projected annual growth rates by region for the period 2007-2011 which showed that the Caribbean and Latin America had the lowest predicted growth for the period under review. Given the reality that the first area to grow in a developing market was the short haul route and that the Caribbean was the only region that was not served by a domestic LCC, REDjet had an excellent opportunity to gain first mover advantage by introducing low air fares in this region.

17REDjet Airborne

Legacy airlines operating in the region were full service, high-fare airlines with prohibitive prices and products aimed at wealthy tourists and business passengers and the regional elite (Holder, 2010; Parle, 2012). In view of the compelling need for an LCC in the region, the empirical evidence suggested that the entry of REDjet contributed to the development of tourism in the Caribbean by opening up seven routes across the region in 2011 and another two routes in 2012 as illustrated in Table 2 compared to the fourteen that it had envisaged when the enterprise was first undertaken (Burns, 2011), thus significantly increasing airlift capacity and Caribbean passenger traffic. As a result, Figure 1 illustrates that by 2011, REDjet had 4% of the Caribbean travel market compared to 28% for CAL and 68% for LIAT (Inniss, 2011).

Table 1 Annual Growth Rate (2007-2011) ____________________________________ Total international 5.3% Africa 5.6% Asia Pacific 5.9% Europe 5.0% Latin America/Caribbean 4.4% Middle East 6.8% North America 4.2% ____________________________________ Source: IATA, 2007

REDjet was a low-cost carrier in the aviation industry that encouraged more people to travel based on its reduced air fares (Burns, 2011). The CEO of REDjet argued that the low-cost business model worked best in countries where economies were suffering the most because people were more cost conscious and, therefore, they needed affordable air transport. Moreover, he contended that the only business model that transformed the aviation industry over the last fifteen years was that of low-cost airlines.


Figure 1 Caribbean Traffic by REDjet, CAL and LIAT (2011)

Source: Interview with Airport Operations Manager, 2011

Table 2 REDjet’s Scheduled Destinations as at March, 2012

Source: Daily Nation and Barbados Advocate (several issues)

19REDjet Airborne

In contrast, many legacy airlines failed to grow and some even went out of business. Since 2002, over thirty LCCs were launched in the US and Europe, yet REDjet, as the first LCC in the Caribbean, was only able to start its operations in May 2011 after considerable delays. The significant lag time experienced by REDjet in obtaining the air operator’s certificate provided evidence of an unwillingness by regulators to consider or facilitate the implementation of innovative business models and practices such as the creation of LCCs.

In Table 3, empirical evidence indicates that since REDjet started operations in May 2011, it consistently increased passenger traffic every month from 1,365 to 8,112 in December 2011 in CARICOM countries. The results indicated that REDjet positively impacted intra-regional travel for the period May to December 2011 as seen in Appendix 1: Passenger Statistics for CAL, LIAT and REDjet (Waterman, 2011). In fact, the only decline occurred in the month of September when the passenger numbers decreased to 4,615. In addition, a comparison of passenger numbers for the period January-September 2010 with January-September 2011 illustrated that LIAT improved its passenger traffic from 327,214 to 340,217 while CAL declined from 149,593 to 142,972.

Table 3 Passenger Traffic Carried by CAL, LIAT and REDjet___________________________________________________________Month CAL LIAT REDjet___________________________________________________________May 16,696 37,104 1,365June 15,082 34,867 2,316July 19,046 48,998 4,634August 20,808 49,284 5,595September 13,395 29,864 4,634October 14,605 33,060 4,916November 13,475 31,937 5,345December 16,467 32,879 8,112___________________________________________________________Source: Ministry of International Transport, 2011


Despite initial doubts by customers and policymakers that low air fares could ever be offered in the Caribbean, the evidence indicated that there was an immediate ‘REDjet effect’ on the airline industry as it forced its competitors to significantly lower air fares. This was demonstrated by the responses from both LIAT and CAL as they reduced their air fares substantially through specials on certain days compared to their regular prices. Table 4 illustrates the range of comparatively lower air fares such as LIAT’s (US$261.30), CAL’s (US$400.00) and REDjet’s (US$145.48) price for travel to Guyana respectively (Barbados Advocate, June 6, 2011). As a consequence of REDjet’s price being approximately 45% cheaper, LIAT sought to undercut REDjet’s air fares by offering “special Just Go” air fares of US$93.00 to Guyana, US$74.00 to Grenada, US$76.00 to Trinidad and Tobago, US$54.00 to St. Lucia, and US$52.00 to St. Vincent during the period June 5-8, 2011 but this was unsustainable and so it had to readjust its prices, for example, from Barbados to Guyana increased to US$130 in March 2012.

It remains an open question whether these air fare reductions would have been sustained had REDjet remained in operation. However, the evidence clearly highlighted the significant reduction in air fares offered by LIAT and CAL to selected destinations serviced by REDjet and this demonstrated how the ‘REDjet effect’ was able to increase passenger traffic to Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica (Barbados Business Authority, June 20, 2011). Moreover, it illustrated the impact that competition had on reversing a prohibitive pricing policy even if it was only for a brief period of time. Thus, in the Caribbean context of monopolistic and anticompetitive pricing policies which represented significant barriers to entry, REDjet’s achievement was by no means an easy feat.

As a consequence of its achievements in a relatively short space of time, REDjet’s entry in the Caribbean market confirmed the capability of LCCs to lower air fares. In this regard, REDjet represented not only the boldest business model in the travel and tourism industry to date, but more importantly, it had the potential to make a significant contribution to Barbados’ and the region’s tourism development and accelerate the regional integration process (Husbands, 2011; Sealy, 2012). Moreover, it was perhaps the best opportunity to significantly increase airlift capacity, travel and tourism development, especially intra-regional travel which had

21REDjet Airborne

Table 4 Comparative Air Fares for LIAT, CAL and REDjet

Source: Barbados Newspapers, June 5 and 6, 2011; December 18, 2011; January 22 and 25, 2012; February 6, 2012; March 2 and 12, 2012.


declined by over 25% since 2005, and enhance public policy by updating an antiquated legislative and regulatory framework that stifled much-needed competition to stimulate business and entrepreneurship, as well as economic growth and development. In short, the REDjet experiment presented numerous opportunities for the GOB to implement innovative legislative and regulatory policies to facilitate an open skies policy.

Although the Caribbean was recognised as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations, there was significant price sensitivity because tourism was subject to intense global competition (World Bank, 2006). A major part of the competition came from the US market which offered a variety of destinations that were less expensive to the average traveler and easier to access. This helped, in part, to explain why recent growth in the region had been less than the world average – 2.9% per annum compared to 3.7% per annum over the period 1990-2002. Moreover, this trend was expected to continue into the future where the Caribbean’s growth was expected to be 4% per annum as opposed to 4.5% per annum world growth up to 2020. In general, air fares tended to be higher under restrictive air agreements as those found in the Caribbean compared to liberalised regimes based on open skies policy. As a consequence, airlines were forced to fly with empty seats and thus compensated for the shortfall in revenue by issuing higher ticket prices. Empirical studies on a comparison of air fares in three markets indicated that on average, air fares to Caribbean destinations governed by an open skies policy were US$71 higher than a US domestic comparator, whereas air fares to those destinations governed by restricted air agreements were US$155 higher.

In addition, average air fares on routes governed by a liberalised regime were 12% lower than on routes where more restricted air agreements prevailed. Moreover, the evidence indicated that the presence of an LCC on a route tended to lower average air fares by 16%, thus suggesting a ‘Southwest effect’ that may be anything up to 28%. In 2000, the introduction of air services by privately-owned Caribbean Star in the Eastern Caribbean market in direct competition with LIAT, demonstrated that competition had the effect of reducing air fares by a factor of 20%. In fact, the evidence indicated that the entry of REDjet resulted in significantly reduced air fares which contributed to increased intra-regional travel at precisely a time when the Caribbean was the only region to suffer reductions in travel compared to significant growth experienced by all other regions across the globe. Thus, unless and

23REDjet Airborne

until the other airlines succeed in developing an effective response, low-cost new entrants will be the only option to exert cost-related price competition, extend low-fare services to other markets, and replace other airlines’ lost service. REDjet made great strides against the odds in carving out new routes in 2011 which it celebrated at the end of that year by announcing plans for two new routes in 2012. It therefore came as a great blow to the low-cost travelling public when REDjet suspended its operations on March 16, 2012 (Saturday Sun, March 17, 2012)). In this context, innovative options should have been explored by the GOB in discussion with REDjet and other Caribbean governments to find creative solutions to sustain affordable air fares, increase intra-regional travel, and increase airlift capacity to address the lack of regional transportation (Sanders, 2012), including the thorny issue of ownership (Singh, 2012). Indeed, the new Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) suggested that making air travel accessible for the average citizen was the biggest challenge because the cost structure of air transportation was prohibitive (Sunday Sun, November 13, 2011). Moreover, he argued that regional governments could not afford to subsidise air transportation services because of the financial and economic crisis and, therefore, creative solutions had to be found to address these long-standing problems.

Barriers to Entry

In every case where an LCC entered a market, the existing airlines were forced to compete by lowering air fares, increasing productivity and increasing services (Coleman, 2008). As a result, however, existing airlines responded by resisting the entry of the LCC into the market, and the situation was no different with REDjet in the Caribbean. First, a major barrier to entry was the restrictive regulatory policy environment in which airlines operated that was prohibitive, at best. In the Caribbean, state-owned legacy carriers such as CAL and LIAT operated as monopolies and protectionist policies were implemented to shield them from competition. To this end, the regulatory authorities in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica initially denied REDjet the AOC to operate because of regulatory policies, procedures and approval processes which were costly and time-consuming (Barbados Business Authority, June 20, 2011).


Regulatory Policy

The REDjet saga was characterised by two main opposing views. One view was that the governments of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados argued that certain regulatory requirements had to be completed before REDjet could be granted approval to fly. The opposing view was that REDjet contended that despite submitting all the required documentation in a timely manner, political and regulatory practices by the respective governments resulted in lengthy delays in the approval process which led to allegations of political sabotage by REDjet investors and the eventual suspension of its operations on March 16, 2012 because of financial difficulties.

The reality was that although REDjet officially launched in October 2010, it did not receive its AOC from Barbados’ Civil Aviation Department until April 15, 2011. It was argued that Barbados was in the process of seeking approval for Category 1 status at the time of REDjet’s approval and therefore the granting of the AOC was subject to that exercise. However, there was no such delay in Guyana and its inaugural flight was facilitated on May 10, 2011. REDjet encountered similar barriers to entry in Jamaica and could not operate flights between Barbados and Jamaica during May 11-24, 2011 as envisaged because of political and regulatory practices. Similar problems were also experienced in Trinidad and Tobago and REDjet argued on May 17, 2011 that protectionism and political delays were preventing it from obtaining approval to fly to both Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica because of the completion of the Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines deal which was eventually completed on May 26, 2011. As a consequence of these costly delays, REDjet was forced to lay off some of its 70 employees in 2011, cancel more than fifty flights that were booked up to the end of March 2012, and eventually suspend its operations on March 16, 2012.

The evidence suggested that there was a conflict of interest between the regulators and owners of airlines in the region who in this case were the regional governments that at once controlled the granting of licences to regional airlines and at the same time grant subsidies to foreign airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to ensure regional airlift. This was particularly true in the case of Barbados which previously did not have a designated carrier. The demise of REDjet underscored the reality that we may never know whether it would have been successful

25REDjet Airborne

or what were the true factors that led to its downfall (Trinidad Newsday, March 29, 2012). An airline analyst argued that REDjet seemed to have assumed an open skies policy and perhaps failed to read the fine print of the CARICOM Multilateral Air Services Agreement (Trinidad Newsday, March 29, 2012). However, another analyst at the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) argued that Caribbean governments had to bear some of the blame for REDjet’s demise because of long delays in granting permission to fly to several destinations in 2011 which hurt its potential for profit and which ultimately, contributed to its financial problems (Daily Nation, April 3, 2012). Moreover, he argued that REDjet’s demise reflected the longstanding realities of Caribbean governments which refused to fully liberalise in order to facilitate any meaningful competition in the market. In short, REDjet’s demise ensured a return to the status quo - protectionist governments keeping a tight grip on traffic rights in order to protect their loss-making flag carriers. Ownership and Control

Second, the issue of ownership and control also constituted a barrier to entry because under the CARICOM Master Air Services Agreement (CMASAs) - to which Jamaica was not a party - ownership by regional legal residents qualifies, but not under the individual Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) which were based on citizenship and which superseded the (CMASAs) even though it was the more recent agreement (Caribbean Air Transport Study, 2006). The restrictive nature of BASAs remained problematic since they regulated the rights of each country to designate one or more airlines, what routes the airlines could service, the capacity they could offer and their pricing of the services. In essence, they constituted the regulatory policy framework under which airlines of one state were granted economic rights to fly into and beyond another state. The details were usually covered by memoranda of understanding that accompanied each BASA and both nations had to agree to any changes.

In general, BASAs in the Caribbean contained a number of restrictions that created barriers to entry for new entrants, particularly more so for intra-Caribbean agreements than for others. This was the experience of REDjet which became the first Barbadian airline designated to fly to destinations in the Caribbean (Burns, 2011). Thus, the CEO of REDjet complained that it


did not receive the support from the GOB that it had envisaged in relation to approval for operating and expanding its routes across the region. In addition, he questioned the delay of the regulatory authorities in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica in granting approval for REDjet to fly to these destinations since it was the intention when its application was made two years previously, to travel throughout the region as a Pan-Caribbean airline (Burns, 2011). In view of the suspension of operations by REDjet, the spotlight was once more focused on the recurring failure by Caribbean governments and private sector entrepreneurs to address the challenges of the evident lack of an open-skies policy (Sunday Sun, March 18, 2012) or an enlightened regional air transportation policy, including the critical factor of ownership, and the possible intervention by the GOB to provide a subsidy to REDjet to facilitate its return to the skies (Trinidad Express, March 20, 2012; Midweek Nation, March 21, 2012; Daily Nation, March 30, 2012). The issue of subsidies was not a recent development. In fact, it was always defended and continued to be supported in the national interest of owners. A case in point was CAL which was owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and which received an estimated US$75 million annual fuel subsidy. Moreover, the ownership of airlines in a single Caribbean airspace had been debated over the years by successive administrations in CARICOM but it continued to be an elusive goal (Barbados Business Authority, April 2, 2012).

Bureaucratic and Political Delays

Third, excessive delays in approval proved to be a major hurdle. REDjet complained that as a result of excessive delays in the approval process it lost BDS$8 million (Saturday Sun, November 26, 2011). The issue of bureaucratic delays also negatively impacted the implementation of requirements that were identified since 1994 by the FAA in order for Barbados to achieve Category 1 status. As a result, Barbados had not established a civil aviation authority which was a primary requirement to facilitate flexibility to rapidly respond to changes in the aviation industry (Beckles, 2011). In addition, it would have facilitated faster decision-making and implementation of policy actions. Moreover, it was envisaged that a civil aviation authority would be more dynamic and responsive to the needs of stakeholders (Barbados Advocate, December 5, 2011). The suspension of operations by REDjet resulted in Barbados revoking its licence which, in turn, led to the Trinidad

27REDjet Airborne

and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) taking similar action based on its argument that it had no choice but to also revoke REDjet’s licence as of March 30, 2012 (Daily Nation, March 31, 2012). In effect, these actions made it very difficult for REDjet to resume flying even if there had been an attempt to rescue the airline because there would have been further bureaucratic delays in order to get back into the skies.

Category 1 Status

Fourth, the goal of attaining Category 1 status under the International Air Safety Assessment (IASA) program proved to be another barrier to entry for REDjet. This was a rigorous regulation standard that had negatively impacted REDjet because on April 12, 2011, the FAA announced that Barbados had failed to meet the IASA regulation standards and, thus, any Barbados-based airline was prevented from flying to US destinations until Category 1 status had been achieved. Category 1 status conferred a range of benefits including the likely effect of increasing marketability through a safety seal of approval and the opportunity to code share with US airlines. Another benefit allowed the airlines of those countries to be eligible to fly into the US, a destination that REDjet wanted to access, especially Ft. Lauderdale. Yet another benefit was entry into open skies agreements with other countries. Table 5 indicates that many Caribbean countries whose civil aviation arrangements do not currently enjoy Category 1 status do not have national airlines serving the US, or often any other international market (World Bank, 2006). Fifth, the fear of CAL and LIAT losing passengers to REDjet was another barrier to entry even though the ‘REDjet effect’ proved that its entry in the Caribbean resulted in a corresponding reduction in air fares and stimulated increased demand for air travel. Finally, the practice of existing legacy airlines, namely, CAL and LIAT, of adopting protectionist policies that provided subsidies that undercut the business model of REDjet was perhaps the most damaging barrier to entry.


Table 5 Aviation Safety Status in Selected Caribbean Countries ___________________________________________________________ Country Status Remarks ___________________________________________________________Aruba 1Barbados NA NABelize 2 Currently not serving USABermuda 1Cayman Islands 1Dominican Republic 2 Currently not serving USAHaiti 2Jamaica 1Netherlands Antilles 1OECS 1 Certification granted 2006Suriname 1Trinidad and Tobago 1 ___________________________________________________________Source: FAA Flight Standards Service

Air Transport Services

Air transport services in the Caribbean market were provided by a variety of international as well as by privately and state-owned regional carriers with increasing competition from both legacy and LCCs. In this regard, there were competing services on most routes and some, if not all, of these carriers were been able to increase the level of air transport services in response to demand. While there was debate about whether the capacity could be considered adequate to the demand, there was competition on most routes, although with generally fewer alternatives on intra-Caribbean routes which were normally served by regional carriers. In fact, empirical evidence indicated that regional carriers had low load factors and, even though CAL recorded a US$33m profit for 2011 (Trinidad Newsday, November 15, 2011), it was still heavily reliant on fuel subsidies, and LIAT was operating at a loss despite government assistance. The evidence also indicated that Caribbean-based carriers were major players, accounting for 28% of available seats. However, there were significant differences in the markets, especially in relation to the challenges faced by regional airlines such as CAL and LIAT

29REDjet Airborne

competing directly with international carriers on external routes and those providing intra-regional services often in competition only with each other and more specifically with REDjet.

Air Transportation Policy

The immediate challenge facing the Caribbean was the urgent need to explore radically different and innovative options in order to significantly increase intra-regional travel. The major question was, therefore, how could regional governments implement an air transportation policy that would increase airlift individually or collectively that would sustain increased tourism traffic? In addition, how could they reverse the trend of prohibitive prices which had both dampened demand and restricted travel of Caribbean citizens over the years? In addition, the dominance of CAL and LIAT and their unfair advantage due to protectionist pricing policies and government subsidies had cast the spotlight on the absence of airline competition in the region. Air transportation policy remained perhaps the most critical factor for the survival of most countries in the region, especially those that depended on tourism for economic growth, employment generation and earning foreign exchange. There was a glaring failure to address this burning issue over the years and the demise of REDjet brought the issue to centre stage as everyone waited to see whether regional governments had the political will to take decisive policy actions. REDjet was viewed as a courageous investment in an exceedingly difficult operational environment characterised by uneven competition which needed financial support (Saturday Sun, January 14, 2012; Sunday Sun, March 18, 2012; Midweek nation, March 21, 2012; Daily Nation, March 27, 2012; Daily Nation, April 12, 2012) for it to continue to operate because it was quite evident that the region was essentially being held hostage in a market where the two dominant airlines invariably increased air fares once REDjet was grounded. Globally, the air transportation industry was buffeted by the vagaries of economic booms and busts as a result of fluctuating oil prices, geopolitical shifts, and the recession of the 1990s which exacerbated economic conditions in the Caribbean. As a consequence of these overwhelming challenges, many airlines implemented innovative policies and practices in order to stay in business. Some implemented new marketing strategies aimed at sustaining their viability based on increasing


passenger numbers, market share and eventually, revenue per passenger, per route. It was estimated that the industry consisted of more than 900 commercial airlines and a fleet of nearly 22,000 aircraft. Commercial airlines served 1,670 airports through various networks and transported approximately two billion passengers yearly. Services provided by airlines also included charters and commercial services.

The empirical evidence indicated that the airline industry was resilient based on its relatively quick turnaround from a decline in 2009 and losses of US$9.9 billion to a profit of US$18 billion in 2010, a recovery of US$8.1 billion in a single year (Bisignani, 2011). Moreover, the industry remained fragile and susceptible to conditions in its external environment as demand during the first quarter of 2011 was dampened by political unrest across the Middle East and North Africa and the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In addition, political uncertainty drove oil prices to approximately US$129 per barrel for the first four months of 2011, that was 45% higher than during the previous year. The evidence further illustrated that airlines were stronger and in a better cash position than at the beginning of the decade. As a result, there was significant regional consolidation as more people were travelling and trading globally than ever before. However, airlines were still struggling to make sustainable profits and many governments were still using protectionist air transportation policies that utilised the airline industry as a cash cow for taxation purposes.

In contrast to the relatively positive international perspective, however, the Caribbean profile was quite different. The high cost of intra-regional travel had decimated the number of passengers who could afford to pay such high prices as CAL continued to receive fuel subsidies and LIAT obtained government subsidies to keep it flying. The air fare situation was further aggravated by Britain’s Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax regime that was implemented in early 2012 which increased the cost of travel from the UK to the Caribbean. The impact of this policy on the Caribbean can be gauged from the loss of approximately 300,000 visitors from the UK in the last three years (Barbados Advocate, January 12, 2012). The subsequent impact of a further hike in the tax from April 2012 definitely had a negative impact on the travel and tourism industry in the Caribbean. Moreover, the airline industry in the Caribbean comprised approximately twenty airlines that offered both chartered and commercial services throughout the region. They included

31REDjet Airborne

CAL, perhaps the most popular airline brand in the region, which acquired Air Jamaica and thus, increased its direct services throughout the entire Caribbean; Cayman Airways which offered direct services between Grand Cayman, Miami, Orlando and Kingston; Mustique Airways which offered chartered services to St. Vincent and the Eastern Caribbean, and LIAT which was perhaps the second most regularly used airline throughout the Caribbean. Essentially, then, these were the major competitors and the interplay of the changing dynamics impacted the traditional role of air transportation policy and the environment of the airline industry in the region.

Underlying Causes of Failure

REDjet sought to negotiate a financial bailout from regional governments in order to continue its operations. The evidence indicated that REDjet officially ceased operations on June 5, 2012 and filed for bankruptcy after it was unable to obtain financial assistance to restart its operations which had been suspended on March 16, 2012. The harsh realities that led to the demise of REDjet suggested that it was not simply a matter of finance, but a more complex mix of underlying factors, including bureaucratic, political, and social. The REDjet experiment provided a unique opportunity to reflect on the underlying causes of the airline’s failure, identify the unresolved challenges, and highlight the lessons learnt from this experience.

Several environmental factors contributed to the failure of REDjet. They can be characterised as bureaucratic, economic, social and political.

1. Bureaucratic factors - the lack of fair play. This factor was evident in the decision to suspend REDjet’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) by both the Barbados Civil Aviation Department and the Civil Aviation Authority of Trinidad and Tobago once it announced the suspension of its operations on March 16, 2012. It appeared that there was no room for manouvre or no breathing space for REDjet to find assistance. The situation was made all the more difficult because it appeared as though there was a lack of fair play in regional aviation because REDjet was competing with legacy carriers that were owned by regional governments who were also the regulators. This created the appearance of a conflict of interest which contributed to the belief that bureaucratic delays were used as obstacles to frustrate the operations of REDjet.


2. Economic factor 1- REDjet stimulated competition among its regional counterparts upon its entry into the regional aviation market. As a consequence, it struggled in an environment characterised by claims of unfair competition based for the most part on subsidies provided by regional governments to CAL and LIAT. As long as the subsidised legacy carriers - CAL and LIAT - were not required to be profitable, there was unfair competition in the market. To be fair, it must be taken into consideration that REDjet was not alone in its complaint about unfair competition. A similar claim was leveled against the government of Trinidad and Tobago for its fuel subsidy to CAL by none other than the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who viewed it as an unfair practice.

3. Economic factor 2 - failure to secure financial assistance. Financial assistance to REDjet became a contentious issue because most governments did not feel obliged to support a new entrant to the market. The failure to secure assistance from the regional governments had a devastating impact on the viability of the airline and contributed significantly to its demise. Moreover, views expressed in relation to whether or not financial assistance should have been made available to REDjet provided valuable insights about the temperament of several policymakers. For example, the Minister of Tourism for St. Kitts and Nevis, Richard Skerritt, who was also the chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) at the time, acknowledged that REDjet was a major asset to both Barbados and Guyana in terms of airlift (Midweek Nation, April 18, 2012). He contended that CTO statistics illustrated that in 2010, there were approximately half million intra-regional travelers, a decline of more than a million compared to the 1.6 million who travelled in 2006. However, when REDjet came on the scene as a new entrant, it very clearly demonstrated that Caribbean people were ready to release pent up demand as seen in an immediate doubling of Caribbean arrivals based on increased capacity of affordable rates for air travel. Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM also argued in support of REDjet when he stated that the matter should have been viewed within the broader context of air transportation within CARICOM since REDjet made an impact during its nine months in the market (Daily Nation, May 21, 2012).

4. Economic factor 3 - business model. It was argued that REDjet’s business model was flawed because it was copied from Europe and the Caribben market was not as conducive because the market was much smaller and the

33REDjet Airborne

routes were too thin (Barbados Advocate, April 3, 2012). In addition, it was argued that the GOB was already a major shareholder in LIAT which was incurring heavy debts and was also inefficient and thus, it would have been unrealistic to expect it to support REDjet as well.It addition, it was argued that using the examples of Caribbean Star in 2000 and Caribbean Sun in 2003 which had competed with LIAT on price, both airlines lost US$330 m by 2007 because the operations of all Caribbean carriers that offered fares not covered by their commercial costs were subsidized by their governments (Barbados Advocate, December 10, 2012).

5. Political Factors – protectionist policies in an era of global competition. Many policy makers were not supportive of providing financial assistance to REDjet. There appeared to be protective issues at play as regional governments expressed differing viewpoints on the matter. Arguments were not only based on policy differences, they were also affected by personality differences. It became clear then that battle lines were drawn between REDjet as a privately owned airline which was seen as a competitor that challenged the protectionist policies that supported the legacy carriers – CAL, owned by the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, and LIAT, owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It was argued that perhaps REDjet’s principals rushed into a Caribbean market without the requisite knowledge of its regulatory environment, or the political and cultural factors that influenced the decision to grant the AOC (Daily Nation, March 23, 2012). There was also a view that perhaps REDjet would still be flying if the political promises based on discussions with several ministers of government had been honoured because it appeared as though they had legitimate expectations which were eventually dashed by a breach of faith (Daily Nation, June 13, 2012). 6. Social Factor – affordable airfares in the public interest. The demise of the new entrant low-cost carrier REDjet resulted in a return to the status quo and an escalation of fares by the legacy carriers. It suggested that once the elements of competition were removed, the region would be dominated by the legacy carriers and affordable airfares would be out of reach of the average citizen. The situation suggested that the Caribbean urgently needed to create an environment to support genuine competition within the aviation industry if it wanted to strengthen its tourism numbers and attract more international commerce to the region. Moreover, Caribbean governments needed to discuss the question of whether or not they were equity investors


in the airline industry and, more importantly, to determine what was needed to facilitate affordable and sustainable travel in the region.

Lessons Learnt

There are several lessons that can be learnt from REDjet’s entry into the market. One, REDjet made a definite impact on intra-regional travel into Guyana which was its first destination, and Barbados, where the number of travelers from the Caribbean also increased. Two, it provided Barbados with the opportunity to strengthen its role as a hub with a broader network of destinations by feeding connecting passengers on to other airlines. This in turn attracted more businesses to Barbados with positive implications for the economy. Three, increased competition from REDjet was positive, though short-lived, for the consumers, business and leisure, as well as regional economies which benefitted from additional connections.

Four, the demise of REDjet resulted in the immediate escalation of airfares by the legacy carriers and a return to the status quo which dampened demand, resulted in a loss of important regional feed opportunities, and worse still, future potential investors and new regional airlines which will be deterred from entering the market. Five, REDjet’s achievement confirmed that there was definitely a need for more effective competition as well as genuine competition policy. Six, the demise of REDjet signaled the fundamental need to rationalise air transport policy in the region. Seven, the failure of REDjet also underscored the need for further discussion about how to exploit opportunities for increasing intra-regional travel.

Finally, the evidence indicated that the business models of the legacy carriers - CAL and LIAT - were also suspect because despite their heavy reliance on government subsidies over the years, they failed to make a profit. In fact, despite continuing to receive start-up subsidies five years after it began operations, Trinidad and Tobago-owned CAL recorded deficits of US$ 43.6m in 2011, US$ 83.7m in 2012 (Barbados Advocate, April 28, 2012), and in 2013, CAL was again seeking financial assistance to manage its enormous debts. LIAT also recorded a loss of US$ 8.5m in 2012, declining passenger numbers, and complained about subsidies that CAL received from the government of Trinidad and Tobago which it viewed as unfair competition. The evidence indicated that regional airlines lacked a sound

35REDjet Airborne

business model as well as capable management. As a result, there was no genuinely profitable airline in the Caribbean.

Conclusion

REDjet provided the region with an excellent opportunity to try a new product based on low air fares which actually increased both demand and airlift capacity. Its business model was innovative, though questionable, and it was implemented at a time when the region was struggling to find adequate airlift to accommodate customers with pent-up demand who wanted to travel but were constrained by prohibitive prices and less than supportive public policy. Governments across the region responded in an ad hoc manner to the emergence of REDjet as an alternative business model that significantly reduced air fares throughout the region and increased intra-regional travel, rather than view it as an opportunity to embrace competition based on an open skies policy.

The demise of REDjet casted a long shadow on the open skies agreement that forms a central part of the global aviation regulatory framework. More importantly, however, it highlighted the weaknesses of the regional arrangement and underscored the urgent need to revise the policy framework in order to genuinely introduce competition policy in the region. In this context, REDjet illustrated that a single sky policy throughout the Caribbean would be beneficial to both governments and customers. Moreover, it demonstrated how unfair practices were influenced by the bureaucratic, regulatory and political environment which stymied innovative business models and undermined pragmatic air transport policy that underpins socioeconomic growth within the region. More importantly, it highlighted the fundamental weaknesses associated with outdated air services agreements that continued to restrict Caribbean aviation development through political control and protectionist policies. These policies, in turn, contradict the twin-goals of increasing intra-regional travel and boosting airlift capacity which ultimately contribute to increased tourist arrivals and revenues.


References

Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘Immediate Positive Effect from Redjet’, April 18, pp. 1-3.Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘Low-Cost Carrier Redjet Receives Air Operators Certificate’, April 19, pp 5Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘LIAT: Are You Ready to JUST GO?’, June 5, pp.4.Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘REDjet Fare Compare’, June 6, pp.2.Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘No Change to Low Fares, Assures Redjet CEO Burns, October 21, pp.12.Barbados Advocate (2011). ‘Aviation Regulatory Body in the Works, December 5, pp.1.Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘Caribbean Sees Loss of 3000,000 UK Visitors over Three-Year Period,’, January 14, pp. 5. Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘CHTA President Highlights Airlift Challenges, Concerns’, February 3. pp. 4Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘New Ideas’, February 4, pp.8.Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘Flawed business plan’, April 3, pp. 2.Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘We Can Help, Says Arthur’, April 10. pp. 4 Barbados Advocate (2012). ‘Who Will Save Caribbean Aviation?’April 28, pp. 15Barbados Business Authority (2011). ‘Grounded by Regulation: Has REDjet Been Fairly Treated by Regional Governments?’ June 20, pp.15.Barbados Business Authority (2011). ‘Regional Agenda First’, June 20, pp.17. Barbados Business Authority (2012). ‘Barbados among Top 10 Dependent on Tourism’, January 30, pp. 9.Barbados Business Authority (2012). ‘REDjet Blues Ignite New Subsidy/ Ownership Talk,’ April 2, pp. 23.Beckles, Mitch (2011). Interview with Director of Civil Aviation, November 23, 2011. Bisignani, Giovanni (2011). ‘International Air Transport Association Annual Report’, Singapore: IATA. Burns, Ian (2011). Interview with REDjet CEO, November 9, 2011. Business Day (2012). ‘CAL as Regional Carrier’, March 29, pp.7.Business Day ( 2012). ‘Demise of REDjet, Grab by CAL’, March 29, pp. 11.Business Monday (2011). ‘Caribbean Labeled ‘Most-Travel, Tourism-Intensive’ Global Region’, November 28, pp. 19.Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association and World Travel and Tourism Council (2011) ‘Caribbean Economic Impact Study’, Basseterre, St. Kitts.Coleman, Maurice (2008). Economic Impact of a Low-Cost Airline in Barbados, Paper presented to ICAO Policy Seminar, Port of Spain, Trinidad.Daily Nation (2011). ‘Flight of Fancy’, October 11, pp. 32.

37REDjet Airborne

Daily Nation (2011). ‘REDjet: Fares Here to Stay’, October 18, pp. 5.Daily Nation (2011). ‘Flight Risk, REDjet May Have to Scrap Low Fares, Says LIAT CEO, November 16, pp. 1.Daily Nation (2011). ‘Sabotage, Angry Bizzy Says REDjet Getting Raw Deal from Government ’ November 24, pp. 1.Daily Nation (2011). ‘Airlift Challenge’, November 28, pp. 3.Daily Nation (2012). ‘38,000 More Visited in 2011’, January 25, pp. 4.Daily Nation (2012). ‘No time-out on our airline challenges, March 23, pp. 8.Daily Nation (2012). ‘RED SOS, Lashley calls on regional governments to help grounded airline, March 27, pp. 1. Daily Nation (2012). ‘BTA All for REDjet Flying Again’, March 27, pp. 4.Daily Nation (2012). ‘This painful inaction on Air Transport,’ March 30, pp. 8Daily Nation (2012). ‘REDjet Licence Setback’, March 31, pp. 4.Daily Nation (2012). ‘REDjet Hard Done by Governments’, April 3, pp. 5. Daily Nation (2012). ‘Leaving the Door Open for REDjet’, April 10, p.12.Daily Nation (2012). ‘REDjet Ally, Virgin Atlantic Would Like to See Airline Back, April 12, pp. 4.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Cabinet of Guyana to Discuss REDjet’, April 17, pp. 9.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Guyana Looking at REDjet Bid’, April 19, pp. 13.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Lynch: Not one Cent to REDjet’, April 24, pp. 6.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Root for REDjet – Morris: Governments Should Help Airline to Fly Beyond Region, May 21, pp. 3.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Let-Down! Arthur: Government’s Broken Promises Grounded REDjet’, June 13, pp. 4.Daily Nation (2012). ‘Full Flights’, July 13, pp. 4.Evangelho, Fabio, Cristian Huse and Alexandre Linhares (2004). ‘Market Entry of a Low Cost Airline and Impacts on the Brazilian Business Travelers,’ Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 11, Issue 2, March 2005, pp. 99-105.Field, David (2008). ‘Southwest Changes its Business Model,’ Washington, D.C.: Airline Business, pp.1-2.Graham, Francis, Ian Humphreys, Stephen Ison and Michelle Aicken (2006). ‘Where next for Low Cost Airlines?’ A Spatial and Temporal Comparative Study, Journal of Transport Geography, Vol.14, Issue 2, pp.83-94.Holder, Jean (2010). ‘Don’t Burn Our Bridges: The Case for Caribbean Carriers,’ Kingston: Ian Randle Press. Husbands, Harry (2011). ‘Husbands Sees Role for REDjet in Region,’ Daily Nation, November 23. pp. 5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of low-cost airlines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-cost carrier IATA (2007). International Air Transport Association Annual Report, Singapore:


IATA. Inniss, Jason (2011). Interview with Operations Manager, Grantley Adams International Airport Inc., November 9, 2011.Knorr, Andreas and Silvia Zigova (2004). ‘Competitive Advantage Through Innovative Pricing Strategies: The Case of the Airline Industry,’ Universitat Bremen, pp. 12. Martinez-Garcia, Esther, Bertha Ferrer-Rosell and Germa Coenders (2011). Profile of Business and Leisure Travelers on Low Cost Carriers in Europe, Journal of Air Transport Management. pp.12-14Midweek Nation (2011). ‘AA Files for Bankruptcy,’ November 30, pp.13A. Midweek Nation (2012). ‘Lack of airlift hurting region’s travel’, January 25, pp. 14A.Midweek Nation (2012). ‘Jordan: Airfares will go up’, March 21, pp. 4A.Midweek Nation (2012). ‘REDjet Subsidy a Tough Call,’ March 21, pp.9A.Midweek Nation (2012). ‘Skerritt: Help REDjet,’ April 18, pp. 4.Nigam, Shashank (2009). ‘Is Southwest Airlines Model the Future for Full-Service Airlines?’ Retrieved November 11, 2011, from http://simplifying.comSaturday Sun (2011). ‘REDjet Needs $8m,’ November 26, p.3. Saturday Sun (2012). ‘Sealy says REDjet needs to keep flying’, January 14, pp.4. Saturday Sun (2012). ‘ REDjet Pause,’ March 17, pp. 1.Saturday Sun (2012). ‘Doomed! Bizzy Blames Lack of Fair Play for REDjet’s Failure,’ June 23, pp. 1Saturday Sun (2012). ‘What Brought Down REDjet – Callender: Airline’s Model Wrong for Region,’ June 23, pp. 23.Southwest Airlines. Retrieved November 11, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest Airlines Sunday Sun (2011). ‘Let’s Put People at the Centre,’ November 13, p.12A-13A. Sunday Sun (2012). ‘Regional Regret over Redjet’, March 18, pp.13A.Sunday Sun (2012). ‘Requiem for REDjet,’ April 1, pp 11A.Sunday Sun (2012). ‘Air Transport Talks Crucial,’, April 8, pp. 30A.Sunday Sun (2012). ‘REDjet in Cash Search,’ April 15, pp. 3AThe Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation (2012). ‘REDjet hard done by govts,’ Daily Nation, April 3, p. 5. Trinidad Express (2012). ‘No Surprise in REDjet ‘Blues’, March 20, pp. 9.Trinidad Newsday (2011). ‘$200m Profit for CAL,’ November 15, pp. 5.Trinidad Newsday (2012). ‘REDjet ‘s Future in Limbo,’ March 18, pp. 5.Trinidad Newsday (2012). ‘Demise of REDjet, Grab by CAL’, March 29, pp. 5.US Department of Transportation (1993). The Airline Deregualtion Evolution Continues: The Southwest Effect, Office of Aviation Analysis, pp 1-4. Waterman, Herbert (2011). Interview with Technical Officer, Ministry of International Transport, November 15, 2011.

39REDjet Airborne

Weekend Nation (2012). ‘Skerritt for Subsidising Airlines,’ April 27, pp. 28-29.World Bank (2005). ‘A Time to Choose: Caribbean Development in the 21st Century’, Washington, D.C. World Bank (2006). Caribbean Air Transport: Strategic Options for Improved Services and Sector Performance, Washington, D.C.: World Bank, pp. 2. World Travel and Tourism Council (2006). The Caribbean: The impact of Travel and Tourism on Jobs and the Economy, London.


Gathering Festival Statistics: Theoretical Platforms and their Relevance to Building a

Global Rubric

Jo-anne TullDepartment of Creative and Festival Arts

St. Augustine, Trinidad

Abstract

The explosive growth of festivals and special events around the globe has brought into sharp focus the need to better understand and give better account of their value to their respective host societies. Recent approaches to culling cultural data are generally applied to a broader spectrum of cultural expressions including festivals; but this has also highlighted the need for greater specificity in measuring and gathering statistics for such sub-areas of culture. The more widely accepted methods and practices for gathering festival statistics emanate from contemporary discourse on event evaluation. To date, there is yet to be devised a globally accepted framework for gathering festival data. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to present a synthesis of the key perspectives and debates on measuring festival phenomena and to explore the lessons to be learnt from the literature in considering the development of a global rubric for gathering festival statistics.

Key Words: cultural statistics, festivals, festival statistics, event evaluation, festival management


41Gathering Festival Statistics

Introduction

Methodological frameworks and approaches for gathering festival statistics have by and large emanated from contemporary discourse and theoretical debates on event evaluation. In sum, event evaluation is concerned with measuring, assessing and monitoring events in a systematic manner (Tull 2012: 174). Not surprisingly then, much of this literature takes reference from the field of statistical methodology, and appears to largely consider gathering festival statistics as purposed for enhancing tourism-event management capabilities. The literature reflects a diverse range of methods and approaches for evaluation, buttressed by arguments for and against their use and applicability with respect to festivals. It is particularly noted that this diverse range of methodology can in some instances require adjustment to suit the festival form according to the contexts and resources at hand. This has generated further debate on suitability and applicability of evaluation approaches. In sum, there is yet to be found in the literature, agreement on the appropriate approach, methods, and practices for gathering festival statistics. It is being suggested that this has in part contributed to the absence of a globally accepted framework for gathering festival data to date.

In light of this, the paper strives to review the literature on data collection approaches and methods for cultural phenomena such as festivals. The paper intends to contribute to a small but growing body of research on festival evaluation, by presenting a comprehensive look at: the prevailing perspectives on the nature and role of festival statistics; and, the key debates on the main approaches and methods used to gather festival data. The paper concludes by briefly exploring the lessons to be learnt from this body of literature with respect to the development of a global rubric for gathering festival statistics.

Conceptualising Festival Statistics

The paper holds festival statistics as a specialised area of data gathering and analysis for festivals as cultural phenomenona, but which is also a subset of the wider evaluation function in events management. Festival statistics can therefore serve cross-functional purposes. They may be collected for the purpose of developing a macro understanding of the role and impact of festivals on society which can in turn inform the prescription of policy


on culture, cultural development and cultural diversity; as well as for determining the success and sustainability of the festival in the context of project management, tourism development and cultural industries development whether the festival is commercially-driven or not-for-profit (Tull 2011: 21). This implies that any festival statistics process, while it may utilise some of the fundamental approaches and tools known in data gathering and analysis, must also consider the nuances involved in gathering data on cultural phenomena like festivals that can affect the accuracy, reliability and consistency of the data derived and the analysis compiled (Tull 2011: 21).

As cultural phenomena, festivals are dynamic and thus exhibit varying characteristics that may challenge the use of data gathering approaches and methods without adjustment. To give an example, the nature of festival forms such as the virtual festival,1 given its on-line location, may not lend easily to statistical gathering processes commonly used for other festival forms such as performing arts festivals, folk festivals, and community-based festivals that are located in tangible venues. Similarly, from a methodological standpoint, the use of methods generally regarded as applicable for measuring cultural forms exclusively, may not be automatically suitable as the exclusive method for gathering data on the festival. For instance, the notion that quantitative methods are the most appropriate modes of counting when gathering statistics on festivals is to be cautioned, as qualitative methods have shown effectiveness in triangulating some of the data on festivals derived from quantitative methods.2

1 The virtual festival generally refers to a festival where the patron “attends” by going online to the website, as the festival is being streamed live as in the case of many broadcast festivals, or as a “visit” to the (web)site of the festival long after the festival has passed. At the other end of the spectrum the virtual festival can be imaginative and the attendee simply assumes virtual identity through an avatar, as is offered in the 3D virtual world of Second Life at http://secondlife.com/.2 This issue is discussed further in the paper under the debate on ‘qualitative vs. quantitative approaches’.


Methodology

For the purpose of this paper, some forty-five pieces of academic and consultancy-based literature on festival statistics and festival data gathering processes were reviewed. The literature was accessed through internet search engines and classified in the first instance according to geographic origin (see Table 1). The search sought to include as far as possible work from across the globe, although much of the research around festival statistics has been undertaken in Australia, the UK, the US and Canada. Notwithstanding the general dearth of research on collecting festival data from developing country regions, the review does include some work out of South Africa and the Caribbean.And so, the review does not claim to be exhaustive but seeks to give a general overview of the scope and range of discourse on festival statistics. The literature was also classified according to themes, to be able to determine the main concerns that have predominantly occupied the literature (see Table 2). This reflected that while there is a general consensus and understanding of the nature and role of festival statistics, there is extensive debate around the approaches for collecting festival data.

Perspectives from the Literature

(i) On the Nature and Role of Festival Statistics

Overall, the literature reflects the general understanding of the term ‘festival statistics’ as encompassing ‘hard’ quantifiable data. Much of the literature sees this mainly as comprising: the number and composition of festivals (Gibson and Stewart2009); festival attendance levels (Kim et. al 2010; Richards 2006; Wilton and Nickerson 2006; Snowball 2004); visitor expenditure (Kim et. al. 2008; Snowball 2004; Felsenstein and Fleischer 2003; Breen, et. al. 2001); festival revenue (Gibson and Stewart 2009); and, festival employment levels (Meyers Norris Penny 2010). It is found that these variables are common to most data collection exercises on festivals that are mainly focused on generating economic and financial data to justify the festival’s worth and potential for sustainability.

In this regard, the literature shows that festival impacts constitute a major area of conceptual study as seen in the works of Arcodia and Whitford (2006); Quinn (2006); Picard and Robinson (2006); Gursoy et. al. (2004);


Thomas and Wood (2004); Raj (2003); Reeves (2002); and Getz (1997, 1993, 1991), that has spawned a growing body of related festival data3 . Data-driven studies of this nature tend to take the form of evaluation that measures specific impacts (see Table 3). These studies tend to focus on the more prominent, major (mega) festivals located in urban developed areas such as the study of Glastonbury Festival (UK) (Baker Associates 2007); and the study of Glasgow International Festival (SQW et. al. 2005). This suggests that while the data derived might give some general indicators on festivals, the findings cannot be applied to all festival forms, since smaller festivals and rural festivals for example are likely to have a different set of characteristics and may therefore render different data outcomes.

The literature also shows that much of the impact research seeks to highlight the positive economic and commercial impact of festivals (Baker Associates 2007; Jura Consultants 2006; Vrettos 2006; Allen and Shaw 2002, 2000; Long and Perdue 1990), and tend to include how festivals stimulate economic activity either directly or indirectly (Hackbert 2009; Jackson, Russell, Houghton and Triandos 2005; Carlsen 2004; Formica and Uysal 2003; McDonnell, Allen and O’Toole 1999; Kim, Scott, Thigpen & Kim 1998). The Baker Associates (2007) assessment of the Glastonbury Festival reflects one of the more comprehensive studies to yield a range of festival data from the basic quantifiable data of festival size, visitor spend, employment and so on, to less quantifiable economic impacts such as trading opportunities for not-for-profit organisations and festival contribution to the local entrepreneurial landscape. Some economic impact studies focus on no one particular festival, and instead produce sectoral data (Allen and Shaw 2002, 2000), or regional data (Maughan and Bianchini 2004; Nurse 2002).

To a lesser degree, the literature treats with political, environmental and social impacts of festivals. One possible reason for this vacuum stems from the overwhelming focus on the positives of festival impacts, which usually overshadows festival data on environmental and social impacts that may contradict the generally positive outlook reflected in the literature. For instance, data from a 2009 European Festival Report on ‘green issues’reveal that while approximately 36% of festival organisers believe that their festival’s

3The work of Langen and Garcia (2009) on assessing available literature on the impacts of “major cultural events and festivals” provides a useful review of this.


environmental credentials influence ticket buyers, most admit that they still engage in practices that are likely to harm the environment.4 Much of the literature reviewed tends to shy away from data collection and analysis on such issues. Apart from the work of Hede(2007), Fredline, Raybould, Jago and Deery(2004), and Fredline, Jago and Deery (2003) which offer empirical evidence of environmental impacts, discussion on environmental impact generally centers around conceptual analyses on the importance of ‘green’ issues and the formulation and implementation of ‘green’ programmes, particularly within the context of tourism management and events (Bowden, McDonnel, Allen and O’Toole 2001; Getz 1997).

Data on socio-cultural impacts has similarly shown that during a festival a number of social problems can emerge including traffic congestion, parking problems, crowding and overcrowding to the more serious of social dislocation, crime and vandalism (Delamere, Wankel and Hinch 2001; Douglas, Douglas and Derret 2001; Dwyer, Mellor, Mistillis and Mules 2000). Apart from this focus, empirical research on the socio-cultural impacts has examined festival impact on the host community and local residents’ perceptions (Small, Edwards and Sheridan 2005; Mihalik 2000; Soutar and McLeod 1993); festival impact on the development of social capital (Arcodia and Whitford 2006); as well as festival impact on community development in rural areas (Whitford 2009). Other social impact studies have shown that festivals can encourage the participation of indigenous host communities, as well as serve as an instrument to preserve traditions (Gursoy, Kim and Uysal 2004), which can minimise negative socio-cultural impacts.

Robertson, Rogers et. al. (2009) consider it surprising that the literature on social impacts analysis is comparatively small, given that there is much evidence to suggest positive socio-cultural impacts such as increases in ‘social capital and social inclusion within the community and positive local impacts of article and culture and quality of life for the residents’ (Ferres and Adair 2005 as stated in Pickernell and O’Sullivan 2007: 4). Although there

4For example approximately 61% of festival organisers in 2009 admitted that they do not use sustainable energy, while just a third of festival organisers in 2008 were familiar with any environmental legislation affecting festivals. Areas of legislation raised included those regarding health and safety, noise pollution, local council rules on pollution, litter and emissions policies and land regulations (See http://www.agreenerfestival.com/summary.html).


has been some increasing attention to social impact methods, notably the Festival Social Impact Attitude Scale (Fredline, Jago et. al. 2003; Delamere, Wankel and Hinch 2001; Delamere 1997); social impact assessment (Finsterbusch 1995); the social impact perception scales (Small 2007; Small and Edwards 2003); and the evaluation of social networks and business capacity building (Pickernell and O’Sullivan 2007; O’Sullivan and Jackson 2002), ‘this area of data collection remains relatively under-represented and under applied in evaluative terms’ (Robertson and Rogers 2009: 2). Small, Edwards et. al. (2005: 68) suggest that socio-cultural data on festivals tend to be less prevalent because it is not easily quantifiable – they argue that ‘the measurement of these impacts has been impeded [because] they can appear “intangible” and “unmeasurable”.

A vast majority of festival data has also been culled in relation to event tourism for the purpose of exploring and justifying the role of festivals as a platform for tourism diversification. In this regard, it is noted that much of the current tourism literature from which festival data can be pulled, has been built on the early work of event tourism, for which Getz (1997), Hall (1992), and Ritchie (1984) are most often cited.Visser (2007: 102) notes that the literature in this sub-area tends to cover three broad areas: sociological and leisure participation; community development; and tourism industries. Of the three, festival data in relation to sociological and leisure participation has been expansive as it often used in further research on festival strategic planning and tourism development. In this regard, data is usually generated from: demographic analysis; visitor profiles; visitor expenditure; and motivations of visitors (Kim, Han and Chon 2008; Getz 2007; Felsenstein and Fleischer 2003; Dewar, Meyer and Li 2001; Krausse 1998; Formica and Uysal 1996; Schneider and Backman 1996). Empirical research is also conducted on festivals as instruments of tourism promotion (Felsenstein & Fleisher 2003, Mules and Faulkner 1996), and to a lesser degree on the role of festivals in image placement and tools for destination branding (Esu and Arrey 2009; Long 2004).

Festival-tourism research has also given impetus to the emergence of a small but growing body of festival data on small local festivals and their impact on their respective host communities (see for example Fredline and Faulkner 2000). This area of festival data collection expanded through research on small rural festivals (Gorman-Murray Waitt and Gibson 2008; Brennan-


Horley, Connell and Gibson 2007; Chabra, Sills and Cubbage 2003; Higham and Ritchie 2001; De Bres and Davis 2001), which has in turn influenced research on festivals in developing country regions. It is noted, for example, that empirical studies of festivals in the Caribbean - Dominica’s World Creole Music Festival (Nurse and Tull 2004), Cayman Islands’ Pirates Week (Nurse and Tull 2003), The Trinidad Carnival (Nurse 2003), and the St. Kitts Music Festival (Sahely and Skerrit 2003) all focus on data towards assessing festival impacts, in particular economic benefits, much like the studies on small rural festivals. The former generally feature data on: festival size; visitor expenditure; patron spend; revenue generation; foreign exchange earnings generated by the festival to estimate the festival’s contribution to GDP and employment levels. The studies have also generated tourism impact data such as visitor preference; length of stay; accommodation type and visitor expenditure beyond the festival.

An interesting feature of Caribbean research is its use of cross-regional data in measuring the economic impact of carnival, viz. data derived from economic impact assessments of Caribbean-styled carnivals - Notting Hill Carnival, Toronto Caribana and New York Labour Day (for example Tull 2005; Nurse 2003). The main objective behind this form of data collection is to illustrate the reach of the domestic carnival in other parts of the world as a means of justifying its impact beyond its borders. While small festivals have also been the subject of socio-cultural impact assessments in other parts of the world (see for example Small and Edwards 2003), this remains relatively uncharted ground within Caribbean festival data research. Notwithstanding, the economic impacts conducted thus far have highlighted the relevance of festivals in expanding the industrial base of the region.

Of the literature on developing world experiences surveyed, research on South Africa’s festival landscape predominates, although it has been suggested that festival data on the South African festival landscape is relatively sparse (Visser 2007: 104). This small but growing body of festival data holds similar characteristics to other types of data research coming out of the developing world. Given the generally accepted notion that festivals have a greater impact on smaller localities, much of the festival data from South Africa is derived from festivals in smaller urban areas (see for example Snowball and Antrobus 2002). Additionally, studies thus far seem to favor small urban centres, which are either University towns or are near to a university (Visser


2007), are more than likely selected because these locations aremore easily accessible as studies for researchers based at the Universities. And, finally, much like those from the Caribbean, case studies are generally focused on festival data related to economic impact assessments.

Overall the literature seems to suggest that the primary purpose of measuring festivals is to satisfy the principal stakeholders (funders and organisers) of the festival’s economic worth and viability (Langen & Garcia 2009; Robertson and Rogers 2009; Crompton and McKay 1994; Hall 1992). It has also been argued that festival data is also critical to proving the socio-cultural relevance of the festival. Carlsen, Ali-Knight and Robertson (2007) concur with Robertson and Rogers (2009: 3) who note that ‘there is a growing pressure on public authorities and cultural festival organisers to account for the social and cultural benefits (and disbenefits) of funding and staging [festivals].’ Thus, as the literature seems to suggest, festival data derived from impact assessments can fulfill a diagnostic role: it allows for the identification of areas for improvement/development; it may to some extent provide comparative analysis to generate trend analysis of impact; and also provide a platform for the development of assessment models.

(ii) On Collecting Festival Data: Key Issues in Debate

Debate in the literature centers around three key issues: qualitative versus quantitative approaches to culling festival data; the validity of economic impact assessments and the way in which they are used in generating data; and the relevance of social impacts research in developing economic impact assessments.

Qualitiative vis-à-vis Quantitiative Research Approaches

Quantitative research approaches are predominantly used in the collection of festival data as exemplified in the studies by Kim, Han and Chon (2008); Martins and Serra (2007); Allen and Shaw (2000). Questionnaires and surveys are the most common methods of data collection as exemplified by the Franklin (2009) study on the economic impact of the Trinidad Carnival; the Kim, Han, Chon (2008) study on determinants of expenditures by festival visitors; and the London Development Agency (2003) study on the economic impact of Notting Hill Carnival.


Some writers however question the suitability of quantitative methods as the sole means of collecting data on festivals. In a review of the economic impact study on the Trinidad Carnival (Franklin 2009), a number of challenges have been noted such as unsuitability of an otherwise widely accepted and used data gathering method for the research focus, and overcalculation of numerical data (Tull 2009). Other researchers have similarly noted such potential disadvantages in the exclusive use of quantitative research approaches in gathering festival data, and have incorporated qualitative methods into their research. For example, Pattison (2006) discusses the social and cultural benefits of festivals in Edinburgh, where the method adopted was that of semi structured interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders. Andrews’ (2003) evaluation of the short term impact on cultural organisations, audiences, city and region in the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth games, with particular reference to the Cultureshock programme, again utilised qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, questionnaires, and review of monitoring forms. Garcia’s (2003) assessment of the Cultureshock programme also includes an assessment of impact on audience development, levels of investment and art-form development, using stakeholder interviews, focus groups, and participatory mapping techniques.

The Validity of Economic Impact Assessment

It would appear from the literature reviewed that economic impact assessment is used most often in collecting festival data, but which, because of the way in which it is often conducted, has raised several concerns. Indeed, the benefits of utilising economic impact assessment to collect festival data have been well established (Saayman and Saayman 2006; Bowden et. al 2001; McDonnell et. al.1999; Getz 1997). It has been cautioned however, that while economic impact assessment usefully captures the economic and monetary flows of festivals, there are a number of issues that appear to challenge their validity as reliable sources of festival data (Madden 2001; Johnson and Sack 1996; Crompton 1995; Crompton and McKay 1994).

Some researchers question the overall validity of economic impact assessments given that they are usually requested for the purpose of advocating and promoting the positives gains from pursuing a festival strategy. Crompton and McKay (1994: 33) for example, contend that


economic impact assessments are usually commissioned ‘not to find the true impact, but rather to legitimise the [festival’s] public support by endowing it with an aura of substantial economic benefits.’ Curtis (1993: 7) similarly contends that ‘they are in truth the exact equivalent of an expert witness in a lawsuit who comes to testify in support of the side that is paying the expert’s bill.’Dumnavant (1989) in an earlier paper, submits that economic impact assessment is ‘a very inexact science.’

Others have asserted that economic impact assessments are ‘plagued by a number of methodological problems’ (Snowball and Antrobus 2006: 1). Johnson and Sack (1996: 374) surmise these as: ‘confusing the unit of analysis; failing to calculate costs associated with the project. . .; assuming that all spending is new. . .; ignoring leakage from the local economy; and applying an inflated multiplier to estimate indirect spending.’ There is also the view that these studies tend only to assess the benefits and not the costs (Crompton and McKay 1994) and thus engage in methods to serve this end. Snowball and Antrobus (2006), Crompton (1995: 26), and Crompton and McKay (1994) point out for instance that in counting attendees, local spectators ought to be excluded since their spending does not represent injections of new money. Other pitfalls of a similar nature that have been identified are: the use of incremental rather than true multipliers to assess the extent to which the festival visitor’s expenditure stimulates economic activity throughout the host community (Snowball and Antrobus 2006; Crompton and McKay 1994); the use of sales rather than income multipliers in assessing the economic impact of residents on the host community (Crompton 1995; Crompton and McKay 1994); and the failure to exclude ‘time-switchers’ and ‘casuals’, which can inflate the expenditure data directly attributable to the festival (Snowball and Antrobus 2006; Crompton and McKay 1994). Vrettos (2006) also raises concern about methodology in his comparative analysis of four impact studies of major festivals, noting that each utilises a different methodology and does not differentiate between impacts generated from the artistic nature of the festival and those accruing due to the social nature of the festivals. In sum it is contended that such discrepancies can result in the economic impact assessment producing flawed data.

Some researchers argue that economic impact assessments of festivals should be conducted after some years have elapsed, as this could more accurately reflect both the positive and negative benefits accruing from the festivities. It


has been further suggested that impact assessments could appear more valid if a longitudinal approach is adopted (Formica and Uysal 1998), although much of the research on the use of longitudinal studies in this context has been generated based on application to Expos (Lim and Lee 2006; Edwards et. al. 2004; Dimanche 1996; Jeong and Faulkner 1996).

Inclusion of Social Impact Variables in Economic Impact Assessment

For other researchers, festival data culled from economic impact assessments can be improved with the inclusion of social impact variables. Social Impact Assessments of festivals measure the changes in the communities and in social relationships resulting from their hosting the festival, paying attention to factors such as the roles that age, race, and gender play in the community. While this dimension of assessment is critical to attaining a broader holistic understanding of festivals, it is noted that social impact assessment can be considered challenging given its more intangible nature and the corresponding perceptions that intangibility cannot be measured. The UNESCO 2009 Framework for Cultural Statistics (2009: 40) sums it up well:

‘the main challenge is how to assess the social dimension of culture, which often occurs in the informal sector, where no economic transactions take place. Some aspects of the social dimension of culture are related to its symbolic value and to its role in giving a sense of identity, shared value and belonging, in preventing exclusion and for building social cohesion and stability. It also refers to the non-commodified dimension of culture; those practices, which occur mainly within communities, that take place outside the economic sphere. The social aspect of culture cannot always be measured very easily.’

Notwithstanding, a strong argument has been made forthe incorporation of social impact variables with economic impact variables in culling festival data. One primary argument made is that there is need to understand the indirect impacts on host communities which are not necessarily captured in economic impact studies. In light of this, there are a few commonly accepted statistical standards that support the measuring of the social dimension of culture that are compatible with economic impact variables in measuring festivals (see Table 4). Additionally, there have been some studies that have effectively incorporated social impact variable with economic impact


variables. Langen and Garcia’s (2009: 2) research on the economic impact literature highlights some studies that seek to include a range of non-economic variables in the conducting economic impact assessments. The Report notes for example that the Mason and Beamont-Kerridge (2004) study examined a range of impacts – economic, sociocultural, environmental, and political (community) in carrying out a study of visitor and residents attitudes to impacts of the Sidmouth International Festival. Similarly, writing on the Edinburgh Festivals, Carlsen et. al (2007) have sought to develop a more comprehensive approach to measuring impacts. And finally, the Morris Hargraves McIntyre and Arts About Manchester (2008) study evaluated the achievements of the Manchester International festival against its aims objectives and target, which included certain social impacts.

Lessons from the Literature

The research thus far shows that work emanating from academic discourse and consultancy studies provides many theoretical frames/points of departure for the practice of festival data collection, but which, due to its sheer diversity and abundance, challenge the formulation of a global rubric. A global rubric or framework for collecting festival statistics is considered a feasible means of attaining internationally comparable data and statistics on festivals. Such a framework would, specifically, lend to standardisation of the process of gathering and compiling festival data; contribute to an improvement in validity, consistency, accuracy and reliability across several countries and regions worldwide; as well as encourage through its usage globally an overall improvement in the appreciation and understanding of the role of festival statistics beyond tourism.

It is being contended that the formulation of such a rubric would rely on a body of theory or a theoretical platform that holds a particular set of approaches and methods for measuring festivals and gathering festival data as the appropriate components for a globally standardised framework. This means that any global framework ought to draw on the literature for its point of departure as a means of establishing the rationale for the approaches and methods identified in the rubric as appropriate components for a globally standardised framework. Yet the literature surveyed highlights that there are some key research gaps that can pose a challenge towards achieving this end. These are as follows:


i. The influence of tourism studies and events management on the collection of festival data seems to have overshadowed opportunities for developing approaches, methods and tools for data collection specific to festivals beyond this. Hence, there is need for greater consideration of measuring festivals as cultural phenomena, for the purpose of documenting statistical data that can in turn contribute to cultural development and expand the policy agenda for culture and festivals.

ii. The notion that impact assessment approaches can be applied without adjustment to all festival forms may be misleading, since smaller festivals and rural festivals are likely to have a different set of characteristics as would be found in larger mega festivals. Additionally, the overwhelming preference and focus on economic impacts has precluded greater exploration of other important issues such as festivals and technology; festivals and politics; festivals and the environment and so on. Impact assessment approaches are indeed useful; but, for greatest effectiveness, are better structured as encompassing a range of impact measures.

iii. The general focus on short-term assessment (one festival season or one day of a festival) presents challenges in gathering festival data for long-term planning or for effectively characterising the significance of the festival. Festival statistics derived from the measuring over a broader period of time can yield more fruitful analysis based on longer-term trends and patterns.

Conclusion

In sum, these gaps seem to suggest that the underlying issue across the literature is ‘balanced’ data collection. This is considered to be a crucial net result of any globally standardised framework for collecting festival statistics. While it is acknowledged that ‘a total picture’ of the festival is hardly attainable through the collection of statistics, there is opportunity for gathering more reliable festival statistics based on more holistic or ‘all-inclusive’ approaches to festival data collection. The complementary use of the approaches therefore gives opportunity for a broader range of issues to be analysed as well as a more holistic assessmentto be devised. These factors


are considered key to the fashioning of a global rubric in gathering festival statistics. Further research in this direction would provide a useful aid in informing the development of a globally standardised framework for festival statistics.









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Vol. 37, Nos. 3 and 4, September/December 2012, pp. 71-96

Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica: An Exploratory Analysis

Densil Williams, Lesley HareDepartment of Management Studies

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from an exploratory study into the competitiveness of small hotels in the Hotel sector of the Tourism Industry in Jamaica. Hitherto, little academic work has focused on the competitiveness of this group of firms, which make up a significant part of the Hotel sector in the Tourism Industry. This study, using qualitative data and analysis techniques, seeks to fill this gap by providing critical descriptive information on the state of competitiveness of a sample of small hotels, drawn from the main resort areas in the country. The research revealed that the majority of small hotels from the sample are not competitive. They generally do not show any characteristics of the major drivers of competitiveness, such as: innovation, benchmarking, operation at international standards of quality, leadership, knowledge of their industry, among other things. The only small hotel that had these drivers in place is the one that has turned over the highest level of profitability - a strong measure of its competitiveness.

Key Words: small hotels, competitiveness, tourism sector



Introduction

Increased competition from large and multi-national hotels from Europe and North America has driven a number of smaller hotels in the Jamaican economy out of business (Williams and Deslandes 2008; Crick 2006; Hines 2009; Dunkley 2010).1 However, it appears that the poor performance of these smaller hotels results from their inability to become internationally competitive (Wint 2003). Anecdotally, media practitioners and policymakers in the tourism sector have lamented the lack of competitiveness of the small hotels in Jamaica. However, little academic work has been done to determine whether or not this is so. This paper is the first to test, in a formal way, the level of competitiveness of the small hotels in the Jamaican economy. The future growth and survival of the Jamaican economy is directly linked to the growth in its services sectors, because it is easier to derive economies of scale in services than from manufacturing (Wint 2003). With the decline of traditional export sectors in the economy and the strong performance of the tourism sector, the sector has gained prominence as an important growth engine for the Jamaican economy and other similar Caribbean countries (PIOJ 2010).2 The research question at the heart of this study is: How competitive are small hotels in the Jamaican economy? Understanding this issue will shed light on the poor performance of this sector in the tourism industry in Jamaica. Critically, the work will contribute to the sparse literature on the competitiveness of firms in the services sector, and moreover, the hotel sector, in a location in which services contribute over two thirds of its gross domestic product. Work has been done on the economic sustainability of small hotels (Robert and Tribe 2005), but this is not the same as measuring international competitiveness. Competitiveness is broader than economic sustainability.

1Jamaica is seen in the wider development literature as a small country. A small country has been defined as one having a population of less than 5 million (Wint 2003). Jamaica has a population of approximately 2.7 million. As an open economy, trade represents 100% of GDP.2The sector represented 7.3% of Jamaica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007, with inbound tourism comprising 6.2%, and the remaining 1.1% being generated from domestic tourism (STATIN 2009). The Hotels and Restaurants sectors contributed 6.1% to overall GDP in Jamaica in 2010, and employed an average of 78,893 persons in 2009, representing 6.2% of the island’s labour force (STATIN 2009; PIOJ 2010).

73Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica

This research will be a departure from the existing works, as it will focus on the services sector firms in a specific sub-sector - the small hotels sub-sector. This focus will add new insights to the work on the competitiveness of firms, and can help theorists in the area to build stronger explanations of enterprise competitiveness.

To answer the research question at the heart of this paper, the remainder of the work is structured as follows: The next section will provide a brief overview of the tourism and small hotel sectors in the Jamaican economy. The subsequent section will provide an overview of the relevant literature and concepts that will provide the theoretical lens through which the research is being viewed. The remainder of the paper focusses on the research method and findings, and ends with a discussion and concluding remarks on the subject.

Competitiveness in Small Hotels - A Review of the Extant Literature

The concept of enterprise competitiveness is often conflated with national competitiveness. However, in a reflective study on what drives competitiveness in enterprises, Wint (2003) puts forward a workable definition of the concept of competitiveness at the enterprise level. Wint notes that organisations are deemed competitive when:

■ They are able to export to a number of countries■ They are able to engage in foreign direct investment (FDI)■ They are able to operate at internationally-accepted standards, as pertains

to cost, service level, operational standards and quality■ They are able to earn above-average returns in a market which includes

domestic competitors and (relatively) unimpeded access for rival enterprises from other countries.

This definition shows that enterprise competitiveness is not a uni-dimensional concept, but instead, a number of elements have to be taken into consideration. Not all firms will fulfill all the characteristics identified. However, the more satisfied, the better. Research on the competitiveness of enterprises (for example: Wint 2003; Williams 2007; Barclay 2005 and so on.) have identified a number of factors that are critical for firms to display in order to improve their levels of competitiveness. These include, but are not limited to:


■ Innovation■ International benchmarking■ Leadership■ Quality focus■ Responsiveness to competition

In addition to these internal determinants, researchers have identified the need for strong competitive strategy in order to position the firm in the marketplace (Williams 2007; Barclay 2005). Domestic firms that want to compete internationally will have to operate according to internationally-accepted standards of cost, profitability, efficiency, effective strategies, and suitable international market trends, in order to remain viable.

A critical factor in the drive for enterprises to improve their competitiveness is innovation. Research on small tourism enterprises in Switzerland – the country that was rated number one out of 139 countries in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011 – indicates that one of the reasons for the success of many of these hotels is the high level of industry innovation, backed by a high level of research (Blanke and Chiesa 2009; Chib and Cheong 2009).

Innovation has been defined as the successful exploitation of new ideas, which relates to change on at least four dimensions – product, process, position and paradigm (Bessant and Tidd 2007). According to Berkenveld et al. (2005), continuous innovation is of crucial importance for small hotels seeking to obtain or enhance a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors such as all-inclusive hotels, non-inclusive hotels, guesthouses, apartments and other small hotels. They suggest that hoteliers need to be innovative in areas such as: product development, marketing, technology, and ‘greening’ of the hotels. Avermaete et al. (2003) noted that the types of innovation that are suitable for small organisations include: product innovation (pertaining to goods, services and ideas); organisational innovation (based on marketing, purchasing and sales, administration, management and staff policy); and market innovation (as pertains to expansion of territorial areas and penetration of market segments). Crick (2006) notes that there are few instances of much innovation in small hotels in Jamaica, which, to some extent, is due to resource constraints.


International benchmarking is also important for improved competitiveness. According to Helgason (1997), benchmarking relates to finding an organisation that is best at what the company does; studying how it achieves its results; making plans for improving the company’s own performance; implementing the plans; and monitoring and evaluating the results. The key is to implement continuous improvement strategies based on identified indicators; and the benchmarking procedures should be applied to those processes that are vital for positive organisational performance (Bergin et al. 2000). In order to reap the greatest benefits, the process should also be information-intensive (Leibfried and McNair, 1992) and will therefore require a significant investment of time.

Milohnic and Cerovic (2007) suggest that improvement in small hotels’ competitive advantages could be ensured by continuously tracking and adapting to modern guest market needs. Researchers in the tourism field have suggested that guest satisfaction is the only true measurement of quality, and the implementation of quality relies on continuously following market trends; and constantly measuring the hotel’s operations against the best competitors in the tourist market (ibid p. 27). Milohnic and Cerovic assert that only the use of standard benchmarking indicators can ensure the correct choice of managerial strategies in small hotels. Nevertheless, their research has shown that management of small hotels rarely measures their business success against their domestic and foreign competitors.

Another important element that is often missed in the discussion on enterprise competitiveness is that of Corporate Leadership. Porter (1980) argues for leadership as a critical variable to generate competitiveness in a dynamic market. Clear strategic leadership and direction, plus the commitment of resources, are essential for innovation. Adroit corporate leadership will shape possibilities, determine what actually emerges, and steer the organisation away from what all the competitors are doing and have always done, and into unchartered territory (Bessant and Tidd, 2007).3 It will empower employees to utilise their creativity and share their knowledge, thus contributing to a knowledge management process.4

3The term ‘Adroit Corporate Leadership’ was used in Wint (2003).4Davenport and Prusak (1997) defines ‘knowledge management’ as ‘the process through which an organisation develops, organises and shares knowledge, in order to achieve its competitive advantage.’


Effective leadership will ‘stifle bureaucracy, unhelpful structures, brick walls stopping communication’, and other factors that may be preventing good ideas from surfacing (ibid p.19). Researchers on leadership in small hotels in Jamaica argue that it has proven to be below par, as owners and managers often lack confidence in their abilities as managers, which is a precursor to feeling confident as a leader of a business (Crick 2006).

In Malaysia, Asree et al. (2010) argue that in order to better respond to guests’ needs, it is essential that hotel managers upgrade their skills and knowledge in terms of their self-management, strategic positioning, implementation, critical thinking, communication, interpersonal relationship, and knowledge of the industry. They also suggest that, in order to achieve this end, the hotel managers need to develop an organisational culture that is predicated upon listening to their staff, rewarding and recognising them for their performance, and caring for their welfare. Once these two operational aspects are in place, the managers can expect their hotel revenue to improve. Cox (2005) also posits that visionary leadership requires managing and assessing the human resource on three dimensions, to sustain competitive advantage. These include: putting people first, linking knowledge, and mobilising strategy. All of this is for the purpose of creating value.

There is no doubt that in addition to innovation, leadership and benchmarking, quality is an important driver of competitiveness at the enterprise level. Quality, according to the OECD (2002), refers to the totality of features and characteristics of a service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Some dimensions of quality include accuracy and timeliness. Bartlett (2006) noted that worker productivity and the resulting service quality are particularly low in Jamaica. He argued that the Jamaican worker has the lowest productivity among key destinations such as Barbados, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia and British Virgin Islands. Further, Crick (2006) notes that small hotels sometimes have higher levels of turnover, and this tends to affect the level of their service quality.

Small hotels, due to their resource constraints, are also typically unable to attract and retain the best human resources with highly competitive skills (Crick 2006). Indeed, studies have shown that firms placed emphasis on merging enhanced worker flexibility with up-skilling and improvements in workplace democracy, and in the training of the employees in order to


improve quality and productivity (CRNM 2003). Further, for facilitating staff retention, Charles (2005) in a study which assessed tourism training needs in the Caribbean, indicated that there is a critical need for owners, managers and supervisors in the sector to develop contemporary management competencies in leadership, human resource management, marketing and financial management.

Even further, through the quality management system, the organisation will aim to fulfill the customer’s quality requirements and applicable regulatory requirements, while targeting improved customer satisfaction, and achieving continuous improvement (ISO 2011). Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is used in many hotels for ensuring quality for food safety, and its measures are included in the ISO programme. This ISO system ensures consistency in operations and it requires the involvement of all levels of employees, therefore providing a training opportunity for all (Parque del Lago 2011).

When systems work well it is usually because they meet standards (Parque del Lago 2011). Adopting such international standards means that the hotels’ services will meet specifications that have wide international acceptance. This allows them to compete in many more markets globally; and adherence to the international standards provides assurance to customers about the quality and reliability of the services. Critically, a study of small hotels in Croatia (Milohnic and Cerovic 2007), showed that the possession of the Quality Certificate had the greatest effect on their competitive advantages.

Also critical for driving competitiveness at the enterprise level is the speed at which firms respond to competition in the marketplace. Competitive responsiveness is ‘the measure of a company’s capability to respond to changes in external conditions and events’ (Current Analysis 2011). It is assessed using three recurring dimensions: speed, consistency and effectiveness. In responding to competition, companies adapt to the changes in the competitive environment through the Competitive Response Lifecycle. This represents the cycle of collecting information, analysing it, determining an optimal response, and then engaging the business to execute. Bessant and Tidd (2007) argued that many small enterprises fail because they do not see or recognise the need for change. These firms seem to be ‘inward-looking, too busy fighting fires and dealing with today’s crises to worry about emerging storm clouds on the horizon’ (ibid p. 8). According


to Berkenveld et al. (2005), the continued growth of the small hotels in Jamaica is dependent on the sub-sector’s ability to respond to changes in the international environment.

Important to the firm competitiveness as well are factor conditions in the local economy and industry knowledge. The quality of the human resources in the firm will no doubt impact on the performance that the firm will deliver (Porter 1980). Similarly, owners that posses a good knowledge of their industry will be better able to design effective strategies to operate effectively in the market place.

Viewing the competitiveness of the small hotels in Jamaica through the lens of the factors presented in this review (Innovation, Benchmarking, Leadership, Responsiveness to Competition, Quality, Factor conditions and Industry knowledge.), will be an important theoretical foundation on which to ground the analysis of the competitiveness of these enterprises. Figure 1 provides a pictorial representation of the different variables that impact on the competitiveness of the enterprise.

The Research Method This research paper seeks to provide a framework for determining the levels of competitiveness of small hotels in Jamaica. In essence, the work will be testing the research model in fig. 1. Although the study is confined to Jamaica, it is expected that the results can be generalised to other similar countries, until context-specific studies are undertaken.

Definition of Small Hotels

The definition of ‘hotel’ being utilised for the purpose of this paper is that which has been posited in The Hotels (Incentives) Act, of Jamaica. It states that:

Hotel means any building, or group of buildings within the same precinct, containing or intended to contain, when complete, an aggregate number of not less than ten bedrooms and facilities for meals for the accommodation of transient guests, including tourists, for reward, together with the precinct thereof, and all other buildings and structures within such precinct (Ministry of Justice 2011).


The definition of ‘small hotels’ being posited in this study is a hotel that has ten (10) to one hundred (100) rooms. This is linked to the above definition of ‘Hotel’, and is in keeping with the definition adopted by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association. This definition was considered suitable, as it is in line with the definition from a number of countries within the Caribbean region and across the world; and it does not take into account guesthouses, villas and apartments, as these do not provide (restaurant) facilities for meals, according to the above definition of ‘Hotel’. Adapting this definition will make the study comparable with other works on small hotels.

Sample

The sample frame used for the study was the Jamaica 2010 Business Telephone Directory. The directory has close to 121 small hotels listed, and has the most comprehensive list of small hotels in Jamaica. A convenience sample was chosen for the study. This was done because convenience sampling is the least expensive and least time-consuming of all sampling techniques (Malhotra 2007). Additionally, with this sampling technique, the sampling units are accessible, easy to measure and cooperative. While convenience sampling has its limitations, it can be used in exploratory research for generating insights, hence, its use in this study (Babbie 2004). The primary data were qualitative in nature and were analysed accordingly. Based on these characteristics of the research process, the findings should be regarded as descriptive, not prescriptive.

Key Informant

Personal telephone interviews were conducted with ten hotel industry personnel from the six main resort areas in Jamaica (Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, the south coast and Kingston). These persons included Hotel General Managers and an Assistant to a General Manager. One face-to-face interview was conducted with a Reservations Manager of another hotel.

Data Collection Method

Very little is known about the competitiveness of small hotels in Jamaica. As such, an exploratory study using the case study design was deemed


appropriate. This approach allows the researcher to collect insights into, and gain understanding of, the problem addressed by the research question (Malhotra 2007; Babbie 2004).

Two hotels were selected from each of five resort areas in Jamaica, and one hotel from Montego Bay, the other resort area. A total of 11 hotels were interviewed. Only independent hotels were chosen, as chain hotels have the advantage of gaining economies of scale, thus the results would have been biased.

A semi-structured instrument, with questions looking at the various drivers of competitiveness as reflected in the literature review section, was the main instrument used to collect the data. A total of 29 open-ended questions were asked of the interviewees. Examples of some of the questions asked are: What is your business strategy? Do you have a formal business plan? What quality standards do you have in place? Do you benchmark your property against local, regional and international competitors? Are you in the practice of introducing new innovations? If so, what have been some of those innovations? A review of secondary documents from the firms and interviews with policymakers at the Jamaica Tourist Board were other means of collecting data for this paper. The interviews lasted for an average of thirty-five minutes.

Telephone interviews were also conducted with representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Product Development Company, a former employee of the Small Tourism Enterprise Programme and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s (JHTA) Competitiveness of Small Hotels Project, as well as the Chairperson of the Small Hotels Committee of the JHTA. These interviews were for the purpose of gaining further insights into the current competitiveness of, and issues pertaining to, the small hotels in Jamaica, and the reasons for these. A final interview was held with a Compliance Officer of the Taxpayer Audit and Assessment Department, in order to ascertain the taxes paid by hotels in Jamaica.

Profile of the Sample

Table 1, provides a profile of the hotels that were used in this study. The age of the hotels (in relation to time of inception) ranged between sixteen and sixty-one years. Staff complement ranged between twelve and 136 full-time persons. The number of rooms ranged between fifteen and eighty.


Data Analysis Techniques

The qualitative analysis techniques used in this study were those presented and explained by Babbie (2004). The purpose of the analysis was to discover underlying meanings and patterns of relationships, all with the aim of enabling the researcher to arrive at a conclusion. The data were first coded according to the key areas: profitability of the hotels, innovation, industry knowledge, international benchmarking, leadership, factor conditions, quality focus and responsiveness to competition. These covered the performance indicators being used in the study for answering the research question.

Patterns in the data were then identified based on six factors: 1) The frequency with which the competitiveness drivers were identified across the entities; 2) The magnitudes or extent to which the drivers existed, and the magnitude of profit or loss; 3) The structure of different elements identified in the data, and any particular relation between them – for example, the presence of different types of innovation; 4) The processes or order among the elements of structure; 5) The causes related to the findings; 6) The consequences of the findings to the hotels. Cross-case analysis facilitated the examination of all eleven cases, considering the examination of the key performance indicators. The dependent variable was competitiveness as represented by profitability. The drivers of competitiveness were then cross tabulated with the profitability of each hotel, to identify the relationship with profitability. From this analysis, it was then deduced whether or not the drivers of competitiveness were present in competitive (profitable) small hotels. The findings from this analysis are presented in the subsequent section.

Findings

The Profitability of the Hotels

Competitiveness is partially measured by profitability (Snowden and Stonehouse 2006), or more specifically, by whether the firm achieves above-average returns (Wint 2003).5

5It is important to emphasise however, that profitability is a measurement of competitiveness, and is not the same as competitiveness.


PA Consulting Group (2006) used occupancy percentage and average rate as key operating ratios for profitability. In this study, hotels’ profitability was measured using their occupancy levels and whether they discounted their rates during the period under study (that is, 2005 to 2010). The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has determined that about a 60% annual average hotel room occupancy level is acceptable for the Jamaican hotel industry (JTB, 2003).6 This criterion was used as the benchmark to determine if the profitability of a hotel was significant,minimalornon-existent. To this extent, ‘significant’ profits (or above-average returns) are earned when the hotels achieve occupancy levels of at least 70%-80%, while not discounting their room rates. ‘Minimal’ profits are earned when occupancy levels are just above 60%, without discounting room rates, with earnings being just above the break-even point; and ‘non-existent’ is represented by less than 60% occupancy levels, with earnings being below the break-even point.7

Table 2, indicates the average occupancy percentages of the hotels for the period 2005 to 2010.

Based on these figures, the level of profitability for each hotel can be deduced. Table 3, depicts how profitable these hotels were over a 6-year period.

As represented in Table 3, between 2005 and 2007 (a period prior to the global economic recession), one hotel (Hotel A) earned significant profits, three earned minimal profits, six earned none and one earned minimal to none. Between 2008 and 2010, Hotel A again earned significant profits, while six other hotels earned none, and the remaining four hotels earned from minimal to none (with mainly none made). These findings are in keeping with the secondary research, which showed that the non-competitiveness of small hotels in Jamaica began even before the most recent global recession.

6From JTB analysis, this average represents break-even point.7Even though the occupancy level only takes into account room sales, and not the other services which contribute to profitability, it was still deemed an appropriate measure, as typically guests staying at hotels which offer a European Plan, dine out regularly and seek outside entertainment.


Drivers of Competitiveness

The competitiveness of a firm is a function of a combination factors that work collectively to enhance the profitability of the enterprise. As such, it was important to identify whether or not the factors which the literature lists as important for competitiveness were present in the small hotels from this sample. Table 4, shows the results from this analysis.

From the findings revealed in Table 4, it appears that the hotel which had six competitiveness drivers in place is the one that earned above-average returns (identified with an ‘s’), and thus can be described as competitive; while the others that had between one and four of these drivers, earned below-average profitability (identified by ‘m’ or ‘m/n’), and can be described as uncompetitive. The section below will present a discussion on these findings.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

The literature asserts that the main source of competitive advantage for small firms is their ability to develop unique products, and their flexibility in adopting new technology (Moen 1999). In other words, innovation is seen as an important source of competitive advantage for firms. The data presented in this study showed that of the eleven hotels involved in the research, three have brought one innovation to market over the last three (3) years of operation. Hotel A has given attention to product innovation and was the first to introduce Jerk Thursdays to the Kingston hotel market, and other first-time events. It is interesting that this is the only hotel that reaped significant profits during the period under study. Hotel I has also placed focus on product innovation through its introduction of wine tastings at its restaurant. Hotel K has adopted organisational innovation through its introduction of Internet Marketing, to augment its marketing efforts. The other eight hotels in the study have not introduced any innovations over the period, and this has proven limiting for them. These hotels recorded minimal to no profits during the 6-year period.

Benchmarking is also a critical factor for competitiveness. According to Helgason (1997), benchmarking relates to finding an organisation that is best at what the company does; studying how it achieves its results; making


plans for improving the company’s own performance; implementing the plans; and monitoring and evaluating the results. This benchmarking needs to be undertaken by different departments and at different levels of the organisation (Bergin et al. 2000).

Only one of the eleven hotels surveyed in this research practised international benchmarking. However, the benchmarking exercise is based solely on noting the physical product offerings, and does not take into account systems and processes that contribute to competitiveness. Hotel C does benchmarking on a local scale only, while Hotel J does so, on an international scale. The General Manager of Hotel J sometimes travels to observe the latest in product offerings in overseas hotels. However, the hotel has not established links with internationally successful hotels. This paper took as its working definition of leadership, the one used by Singapore Productivity Association (2010), which states that it is:

The process of social influence in which one person could enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common goal. It involves using one’s role and ability to influence others in some way, which delivers business results and contributes to the organisation’s overall success (p 1).

From this operational definition, it appears that the majority of small hotels did not possess good leadership. This is not good for improved international competitiveness, as the literature points out that it is indeed, one of the strong elements for driving competitiveness at the firm level.

Ten of the eleven hotels did not have good leadership in place. This was evident from the lack of a clear strategic direction for the hotel and its employees. The hotels do not operate based on a clearly defined vision, and do not appear to be lead by possibility thinking. During the interviews, it became evident that they had not researched what it means to become competitive, and were not aware of useful, essential, and related concepts that can ensure this competitiveness. Apart from Hotel J, these hotels do not reward their staff for their performance; and none of the ten hotels have defined and set up quality standards for their employees.

Hotel A exemplified strong and effective leadership and made significant profits from 2005 to 2010. The General Manager gives detailed attention to


staying up-to-date with industry practices and new developments, and build networks with people outside his organisation. In line with what the literature posits as good leadership, the General Manager displayed that he understands the values, agendas and perspectives of the owner, and works to establish a strong relationship with her (Chung-Herrera et al. 2003). He displayed an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation, and motivates his employees, partly by giving them strategic direction, setting up quality standards for them, and rewarding them for their performance. Further, he holds regular meetings with his team, adapts, and helps them to adapt, to changing circumstances, and works as a part of a team.

High quality standards are also seen as critical factors to competitiveness for firms. The data from this research revealed that only a small number of hotels in the sample are operating at internationally-accepted quality standards. Only Hotel H is certified by the ISO. Hotel A is compliant with HACCP standards. This hotel has seen significant profits throughout the period. The low degree of quality certification among these hotels is problematic when one considers what the literature states about many of the competitive companies having moved towards ISO 9000 certification, and having enhanced their capabilities through the acquisition of technology (CRNM 2003). Six of the hotels had no standard operating procedures in place to guide the operations of each department. Two hotels had such in place for only one department; and three hotels had these in place in all departments. Finally, according to a representative of the Tourism Product Development Company, 22% of the small hotels in Jamaica are not certified, because they do not meet the necessary standards.

Speed and consistency of responsiveness to competition are important factors as well, that can help to improve the competitiveness of firms. In responding to competition, companies adapt to the changes in the competitive environment, through the Competitive Response Lifecycle. This represents the cycle of collecting information, analysing it, determining an optimal response, and then engaging the business to execute. This is a process that applies to companies of all sizes (Current Analysis 2011).

Competitive rivalry has been intense in the hotel industry in Jamaica, even more so since the influx of Spanish hotels into the country since 2001. New tourist destinations have also been opening across the globe. However, it


appears that the small hotels in this study have not sufficiently responded to this changing international environment, by doing a close examination of it, determining an optimal response and adopting appropriate strategies to deal with shocks. They have not sufficiently allowed the competition to stimulate their investment in innovation, for their own survival. They have been inward-looking with most concern being on ‘today’.

The focus of eight of the hotels has been on price – keeping rates comparatively low. This has been the extent of their responsiveness. A significant part of the problem seems to be that they do not have an independent point of view about future opportunities and how to take advantage of them, which the extant literature stresses as important for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage (Ali 2006). Eight of the eleven hotels have adopted price competition as their strategy. Hotel C and Hotel J differentiate based on facility management and Hotel G differentiates based on service and loyalty. Most of these small hotels have used price as their primary competitive tool and have seen their prices easily eroded by the Spanish hotels, which have been able to gain economies of scale and offer discounted rates when necessary.

Overall, the majority of small hotels from the study sample seem not to have a good sense of the factors that drive competitiveness at the firm level. Most of them do not practise benchmarking; they do not innovate; nor do they have high quality standards. These have very serious implications for how these entities are managed in a highly competitive marketplace.

The aim of this work was to better understand the level of competitiveness among small hotels in the Jamaican tourism industry. The theoretical lens of enterprise competitiveness as espoused by Wint (2003), Porter (1980), Williams (2007), Barclay (2005) and so on, were used to analyse the data under consideration. The analysis reveals that the small hotels in this sample are not very competitive. They generally lack the major drivers of competitiveness which the extant literature points out as critical to drive enterprise competitiveness.

The majority of firms conflate competitiveness with price competition, and as such, they all compete in the marketplace based on price. They do not carry out innovation and international benchmarking, or operate at


international standards of quality; and are generally very slow to respond to opportunities in the highly competitive marketplace. The lack of these competitiveness drivers has resulted in the majority of firms not being able to operate profitably over the 6-year period under review. Indeed, like other literature, profitability was used as a measure of competitiveness (Snowden and Stonehouse 2006).

Implications of the Findings

The findings from this study point in one direction, and that is, price competition is not sustainable for small hotels. They are unable to compete on price with larger all-inclusive hotels, due mainly to their inability to generate economies of scale in production and distribution. Therefore, for these firms to have a chance of survival in the marketplace, they will have to refocus their competitive strategy on differentiation, and not price. It means that they will have to start getting into place the necessary drivers of competitiveness, such as innovation, international benchmarking, quality standards, and so on.

There are also implications for policymakers that are interested in ensuring the survival of the small hotel sub-sector. Since these hotels are generally resource-poor, policymakers will have to find ways of providing support to help them incorporate the drivers of competitiveness into their firms. One such example could be the setting up of national innovation systems, as does Brazil, where enterprises can get ideas about new products and improve their offerings. Pooling of resources and getting these small hotels under one umbrella organisation that can help in procurement, marketing, quality checks, and so on, will be important, as they can generate economies of scale and help to reduce their overhead cost for these activities. This will go a far way in helping them to start focussing on the drivers of competitiveness, as they will have more resources to work with.

Limitations of the Work

The results from this work should be treated as descriptive, not prescriptive, given the small sample. The cost of doing a large study with the 121 small hotels in Jamaica was not possible, given the limited budget. As such, a convenience sample of carefully selected hotels was drawn, in order to get


some exploratory information on the competitiveness of the hotels. This information, while difficult to generalise, will form the basis for a much larger piece of work that can now look at surveying a wider population of small hotels, to test the level of competitiveness of these firms.

Given that the findings are limited to a small sample, there is definitely a place for future researchers to take the study further by looking at how the drivers of competitiveness match in a larger sample of small hotels. Further, the study can be extended to other Caribbean countries in order to compare results, and also generate a better understanding of the competitiveness challenges that face small hotels across the region. This will lead to better conclusions on the competitiveness of the small hotel sub-sector in the tourism industry across the region.


Figure and Tables

Figure 1. The Research Model


TABLE 1. Characteristics of hotels in the sample


TABLE 2. Average occupancy percentages (2005-2010)

8 Hotel F indicated that they were not up-to-date with the precise records for 2005 to 2009, and as such, were not able to indicate the average occupancy for 2005 to 2010. They however, gave the figure for 2010 only, and indicated that they earned below the break-even point for 2005-2009.9 Hotel G was unable to provide occupancy data for 2005, and instead provided them for 2006-2010. They however indicated that they earned just above the break-even point for 2005.


TABLE 3. Profit levels of the hotels

10Hotel D’s large conference facility was rented frequently, and this contributed to profitability.


TABLE 4. Competitiveness drivers


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Chib, S., and Cheong, F. (2009). ‘Investigation of the Applicability of Business Process Management in Swiss Small and Medium-sized Tourist Enterprises.’ Paper presented at the Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems: PACIS 2009 Proceedings. Retrieved from http://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2009/25Chung-Herrera, B. G., Enz, C. A., and Lankau, M. J. (2003). ‘Grooming Future Hospitality Leaders: A Competencies Model.’ Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 44, 17-25.Cox, M. (2005). ‘20/20 Visionary Leadership for a Strong Caribbean Brand Strategy.’ In Caribbean tourism: People, Service and Hospitality, edited by Chandana Jayawardena. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers.Crick, A. (2006). ‘Small Hotels: Prospects for the Future.’ In Tourism: The Driver of Change in the Jamaican Economy? Edited by Kenneth O. Hall and Rheima Holding. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers.Current Analysis. (2011). ‘What is Competitive Response?’ Retrieved from http://www.currentanalysis.com/Davenport, T. H., & Prusak, L. (1997). Working Knowledge: How Organisations Manage What They Know. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Dunkley, A. (2010, July 6). ‘Small South Coast Hotels under Pressure.’ Jamaica Observer. Retrieved from: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/Helgason, S. (1997). ‘International Benchmarking Experiences from OECD Countries.’ Paper presented at a Conference Organised by the Danish Ministry of Finance, Copenhagen, February 20-21. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/55/1902957.pdfHines, H. (2009, May 25). ‘Seaga Points to Hotel Trouble: Says Small Properties are Facing Extinction Due to Lower Rates Offered by Spanish Chains.’ Jamaica Observer. Retrieved from: https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/ International Organisation of Standardisations (ISO) 2011. ‘Discover ISO.’ Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/Jamaica Tourist Board. (2003). ‘Annual Travel Statistics.’ Retrieved from http://jtbonline.org/Leibfried, K. H. J., and McNair, C. J. (1992). Benchmarking: A Tool for Continuous Improvement. New York, NY: HarperCollins.Malhotra, N. K. (2007). Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Milohnic, I., and Cerovic, Z. (2007). ‘Benchmarking and Quality of Small Hotels in Croatia: An Explorative Study.’ Management, 2(1), 25-35. Retrieved from http://www.fm-kp.si/zalozba/ISSN/1854-4231/ 2_025-035.pdfMinistry of Justice. (2011). ‘The Hotels (Incentives) Act.’ Retrieved from http://www.moj.gov.jm/


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Vol. 37, Nos. 3 and 4, September/December 2012, pp. 97-114

Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels through the lens of Entertainment

Coordinators: An application of Butler’s theory of Performativity to the study of Creative

Industries

Dalea Bean,Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS)

The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaicaand

Andrew SpencerDepartment of Management Studies

The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica

Abstract

This paper attempts to discuss the applicability of the feminist theory of ‘performativity’ to the issue of the work and perceptions of entertainment coordinators in hotels. Entertainment coordinators increasingly, though perhaps unwittingly, reproduce what feminist theoriser Judith Butler and others refer to as a stylised repetition of acts, or miming of the dominant conventions of gender. This work investigates what these prevailing conventions of gender constitute within the space of the Jamaican hotel industry, particularly those which rely heavily on personnel to create an enjoyable space of amusement for guests as a crucial part of a successful entertainment product.

This paper will contrast the literature on entertainment dynamics in the hospitality industry with leading feminist theorising on gender identity. By focusing on an area largely ignored in the research on the Jamaican hospitality industry, this work will use



a phenomenological theoretical foundation to interrogate issues of guests’ gendered expectations of entertainment coordinators and the differences in perceptions of the sexualities of male and female personnel in this field. Primarily a qualitative paper based on interviews with entertainment coordinators in Jamaican hotels, this work argues that guests’ contentment with the work of entertainment coordinators, which is critical to their satisfaction with the hotel’s entertainment product, is directly linked to the performance of accepted gender norms.

Keywords: Entertainment coordinators, performativity, acceptable gendered behaviour, hospitality industry

Introduction

At a glance, the theorising of American post-structuralist philosopher and feminist Judith Butler, and the study of Caribbean tourism make strange bedfellows. However deeper probing reveals that the inherent dynamics of management, employment and the all-important guest satisfaction in the hotel industry in particular, are rife with inadvertent (and perhaps at times deliberate) gendered constructs and realities. As most feminist writers would argue, organisations are an arena in which widely disseminated cultural images of gender are invented and reproduced (Acker, 2000). These subtle gender issues have a great impact on the tourism product even though they are often overlooked by researchers.

It is with this in mind that this paper attempts to test the application of one of the leading revisionist feminist writer’s ground-breaking theory on performativity as it relates to the important and under-researched work of entertainment coordinators in Jamaican hotels. In this sense the work of entertainment coordinators embodies various aspects of creative industries since they engage in cultural and artistic production.1 This paper hypothesises about the connections among gender constructions, the work

1The term creative Industries encompasses a broad range of activities which include the cultural industries plus all cultural or artistic production, whether live or produced as an individual unit. Understanding Creative Industries: Cultural Statistics for public Policy Making (UNESCO)

99Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels

of the coordinators, and guests’ perceptions and satisfaction with their stay in hotels, while arguing that the theory of performativity has some relevance for the study of the work of entertainment coordinators. It is illustrated that guests’ contentment with the work of entertainment coordinators, which is critical to their satisfaction with their level of enjoyment of their vacation, is linked to the performance of accepted gender norms.

Gender is not a fact: Judith Butler’s theory of Performativity

Judith Butler, (born February 24, 1956) is an American post-structuralist philosopher, who has contributed to the fields of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. Her work is influenced by Lacanian psychoanalysis, phenomenology, and speech-act theory in her theorising about the performativity of human identities. These overarching theories seek to explore the ways that social reality is not a given but is continually created as an illusion, or as MacKenzie (2008: 1) notes, they ‘ceaselessly unsettle the ease with which we can distinguish between the real and the discursive.’ Through her work Gender Trouble (1999) Butler essentially questions the idea that gender is natural and illustrates ‘the ways that one’s learned performance of gendered behavior (what we commonly associate with femininity and masculinity) is an act of sorts, a performance, one that is imposed upon us by normative heterosexuality’ (Felluga 2011). Butler’s complex ideology, explores the ways in which we endlessly repeat and cite the conventions and ideologies of the social world around us, which seem to be reality but are nonetheless social constructions. In her words, ‘I oppose those regimes of truth that stipulated that certain kinds of gendered expressions were found to be false or derivative and others true and original’ (Butler, 1999: 3).

The implication of this for gendered identity is that Butler sees gender as an ‘act,’ which constructs the social fiction of its own existence; it is not corporeal but performative. As Felluga (2011) illustrates,

‘in the act of performing the conventions of reality, by embodying those fictions in our actions, we make those artificial conventions appear to be natural and necessary. By enacting conventions, we do make them “real” to some extent…but that does not make them any less artificial.’


Gender therefore has no relation to essential truths but is merely ideological, and identity is an illusion created by performances. Performativity of gender ‘is in no way a stable identity…rather it is an identity tenuously constituted in time an identity instituted through a stylised repetition of acts’ which imitates dominant conventions of gender (Butler, 1988: 519). Importantly, this act as Butler sees it, is not something that one can easily shelve. It is a ritual series of repeated gestures and behaviours, deeply engrained, unstable ontology and is widely accepted as normative. The repetition takes on a powerful life of its own, leading to the dominance of hetero-normative values where ‘our most personal acts are, in fact continually being scripted by hegemonic social conventions and ideologies’ (Felluga, 2011).

This conceptualisation of the non-existence of gender builds on the work of earlier feminists such as Simon de Beauvoir (1949) who posited the phenomenological view that one is not born but becomes a woman. Indeed, while Butler has challenged the notion of unconstructed natural sex, it is generally accepted that sex describes the biological and physiological characteristics that define men and women, while gender refers to the socially constructed roles and behaviours that a society deems as appropriate for men and women. Butler goes further to note that gender is not only socially constructed but is neither true nor false. As she argues, ‘gender reality is performative which means quite simply that it is real only to the extent that it is performed’ (Butler, 1988: 527).

Butler’s mission is not simply one of theorising, as agency is important to her, since it ‘signifies the opportunity for subverting the law against itself to radical political ends’ (Salih, 2002: 55). Butler has endeavored to challenge the status quo by debunking the myth of gender as reality in order to lobby for the rights of oppressed identities (particularly gay and lesbian) who are punished in various ways for destabilising hetero-normative standards that govern society. She argues that if gender is a performance itself, then there is no ‘fake gender’ and for instance, a transvestite’s gender is as fully real as anyone else’s whose own performance complies with social expectations (Butler 1988: 527).

The theory of performativity is not without its critics (Stanford, 1997; Grosz, 2005) and these have led Butler to revise aspects of her work. However the impact of her work has not waned and has influenced others to use performative


metaphors to assess the service work of persons in the hospitality industry (Goffman, 1959; Weaver, 2005). It can be argued that performativity can be applied in two ways as it relates to entertainment coordinators. In the first instance, the performance of gender norms according to the expectations of guests can be tested, and secondly, the job itself embodies repetition of acts of entertainment which are predetermined by management’s ideals for personalised service to guests.

This issue of personalised service as performed by entertainment coordinators has been discussed by Crick (2000). With the paucity of research on entertainment coordinators, Crick’s extensive work remains one of the few holistic works on the important roles of these experience-providers in all inclusive hotels. This useful thesis, straddles areas of Tourism and Operations, and Human Resource Management using entertainment coordinators as the context for research on personalised service within the service industry. Crick argues that the job of an entertainment coordinator has a high expectation of personalised service in relation to guests, as the job is created for the purpose of entertaining and socialising with guests while on the hotel property. These interactions, she found, were mainly superficial, in contrast to management expectations of forming close bonds between the coordinator and the guest. She points out that the restrictive practices of hotels in turn leads to these superficial and perhaps artificial performances of relationships. Apart from contributing to knowledge on a lesser known area, this work also makes useful recommendations for rewarding and motivating employees to engage in more meaningful personalised service, which would have a positive effect on guest satisfaction. Crick’s work also makes key suggestions for future research for instance, examining older, more mature entertainment coordinators and examining the role of managers more keenly. Using this work as a foundation, we argue, that the application of gendered analysis to their work is also an area that can add depth to the literature and enrich the study of the work of entertainment coordinators.

Establishing a framework for research

The applicability of performativity to the work of entertainment coordinators should not be overstated as Butler’s theory delves into a phenomenological challenge of essentialist ideologies on the reality of sex and gender. The intention of this work is not to test whether entertainment coordinators and


guests, or even management have a sex or gender at all. Rather, this work establishes that:

i) The hotel industry creates, maintains and reproduces its own version of accepted gender norms which are geared towards guest’s satisfaction just as much as other better-known marketing and management strategies within the industry.

ii) There is a clear connection between accepted performed gender norms and the work of entertainment coordinators who are encouraged to have a close and personal relationship with the guests. In some cases, what is anticipated from male and female coordinators is similar, such as emotional labour, but there are also gender specific expectations relating to roles and subtle expressions of sexuality.

iii) Guests’ contentment with the work of entertainment coordinators, which is critical to their satisfaction with the hotel’s entertainment product is directly linked to the performance of accepted gender norms.

Figure 1: Performativity Research Framework

Success of all


Methodology

The primary data collection of this paper adopts an interpretivist methodology through qualitative methods. The questions in the interview brief were guided by the constructs in the literature and tailored to suit the specific context of research. The sample consisted of 5 in-depth interviews with entertainment coordinators (2 males and 3 females) in 5 separate properties in the Montego Bay area, which has the largest number of hotel rooms in Jamaica. This was a convenience sample based on the availability of workers, and these persons were the ones that showed willingness to be interviewed. The number of respondents is justified by the richness and depth of the qualitative findings which provide for a robust analysis of the gender perceptions being studied.

Entertainment Coordinators and performativity of gender

Crick explains that the role of the entertainment coordinator is a multifaceted one which essentially revolves around keeping guests happy through scheduled activities and personal interactions. This has been a particular feature of all-inclusive hotels where guests are usually on the property site for the duration of their stay and would therefore need various forms of entertainment to enhance their experience and keep them from becoming bored or disgruntled. This has been supported by the respondents, one of whom noted ‘for guests who chose to stay on the property for the entire time of their vacation, they can get bored with just the sea, sand and food, so we try to make the stay fun by engaging them in various activities. We are here to make them have a great time while they relax.’ It can be argued that entertainment coordinators are increasingly becoming an important determinant of guest satisfaction with their vacation. This is noteworthy, since customer satisfaction is one of the crucial elements of success in the tourism industry (Grace, 2005, Meng, Tepanon and Uysal, 2008). As Smith and Spencer (2011) illustrate, typically guest satisfaction attributes at all-inclusive hotels fall into six categories: Quality of Food, Variation in Restaurant choice, Entertainment Package, Exposure to Culture, Easy Access to Shops and Service at Bar. Ranking the importance of these is outside the scope of this research. However the importance of entertainment cannot be overlooked as one of the main determinants of whether guests are satisfied with their stay in hotels. The Entertainment coordinator, who manages the


entertainment offerings, is therefore important to the study of contentment of guests. As a female respondent mused, ‘sometimes I think we make all the difference, we make the experience much more enjoyable than if they had to be on the property without any local person to interact with.’

Coordinators are involved in various activities, including planning special events such as New Year’s Eve parties and weddings. As playmakers, entertainment coordinators are expected to perform for the guests and involve the guests in fun-filled activities. They therefore have to be enthusiastic about the activity and skilled at co-opting guest participation. The coordinator’s role also extends to being a best friend in that they are expected to form an intimate bond with the guests throughout their stay. As Crick (2000: 81) explains, this friendship is ‘not accidental, (but) based on repeated interactions and the ultimate discovery of some shared interests or needs.’

Both male and female coordinators who were interviewed expressed that their main task was to prepare fun activities for each guest. While the coordinators usually do this in a group setting they were quite cognisant of the importance of ensuring that each individual guest had an enjoyable experience while on property. As a male respondent explained, ‘when we are doing group activities we have to make sure that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Even if the overall vibe (is) nice, we have to watch each face and make everyone have a good time.’ This is supported by the literature, which focuses on the fact that personalised service (individual care and concern for the customer) is of paramount importance to the work of the coordinators (Crick, 2000: 2). In a world where met expectations produce satisfaction and exceeded expectations produce delight (Crick and Spencer 2011), we argue that personalised service, not only leads to customer satisfaction, but is one of the critical determinants of the success of any hotel or tourism industry. As Crick (2000: 2) highlights, ‘these feelings are expected to translate into repeat business and referrals both of which affect the organisation’s profitability and market share.’

Various models of satisfaction have emerged in the literature and postulate that feelings of satisfaction emerge when consumers compare their perceptions of a product‘s performance to their expectation while others suggest that the feeling of satisfaction will arise when the consumers’


perception of performance attributes is compared with the consumers’ desires (Spreng, MacKenzie and Olshavsky, 1996: 16). Guests’ satisfaction with entertainment is intrinsically linked to their expectations either being met or exceeded. Simply put, the more fun they have, the more satisfied they will be. The coordinators communicated that guests expected a high level of quality service which included, being courteous, starting activities on time, and delivering all activities in a tasteful and enjoyable manner. The fact that each guest’s ‘taste’ will differ, means that the coordinators have to be constantly aware of verbal and nonverbal cues from guests (as highlighted in the quote above) in order to tailor their performances to ensure satisfaction of the group and individuals alike. For the respondents this was the most difficult part of their job; that of pleasing every guest.

When asked if they always meet guest’s expectations, one respondent said ‘yes, by focusing on the guests basic expectations, rather than trying to go above.’ However the other coordinators subtly separated their own ability to please the guest from external variables that impact on guest satisfaction. They expressed that because they made every effort to ascertain the basic expectations of the guests, they were able to create a fun filled experience for them. However they articulated that there was little they could do if the guests’ expectations could not be met because of limited resources given to them by management. In this case the onus is placed more on the ability of the coordinator to use their ‘internal’ resources such as pleasant demeanor, high energy levels, and engaging personality to please guests. Indeed, one of the first items in most entertainment coordinator job descriptions is that of providing suitable motivation for guest participation. Managers therefore do not seem to be fully aware of the role they need to play in enhancing the job of the entertainment coordinator, though they are clear on the roles that they wish the entertainment coordinators to perform.

In leading Jamaican hotel chains, there is a clear recognition that employees must be conscious of the feelings or emotions that they are expected to create in customers. This emotional labour infuses warmth into routine transactions (Crick 2001). The very nature of hospitality is that hospitable behaviour is seen as a virtue and includes the desire to ensure the happiness of the guest, in order for him or her to feel genuinely valued and welcomed (Pizam and Shani, 2009). When even one guest is not pleased with their service this can have inimical effects on the specific hotel and have negative ripple effects


on the country’s hotel industry in general. As Crick (2008: 83) indicates, managers of Caribbean hotels know that they are ‘in competition with every other hotel in the world, and that a single negative experience could be recounted to millions with just a few key strokes.’

Even more than other service line staff, the entertainment coordinator, who is constantly monitored by immediate supervisors, is held directly responsible for the guest’s state of happiness on an individual and group level. As a female respondent shared ‘everyone has to be polite to guests, but we can’t just smile and walk by, we have to take a special interest in each guest we come across. It isn’t just about the planned activities, it’s an everyday thing.’ The very personhood (emotions, feelings and personality) of the coordinator is critical in determining the outcome of the interaction. Crick (2000: 85) points out the unique nature of the coordinator thus; ‘they provide the personal service that the rest of the hotel does not have time to effectively perform…the guest knows that he or she should share problems, conversations and so on with the coordinators, because their role has been clearly defined in the orientation and by their actions on and off stage.’ The coordinators noted that these roles are reinforced through daily morning meetings with immediate supervisors as well as via detailed job descriptions which they are given on entering the job. Crick (2000: 57) argues that the main goal of the coordinator is to use his or her body, mind and emotions to create not only present satisfaction and happiness, but future business for the organisations.

This state of happiness is usually linked to the ‘fun factor’, that is, how entertaining the activities are; however we argue that the state of happiness is also linked to the expectations of the guests about gender as performed by the coordinators. These expectations do not only include perceptions of what they want to gain from their vacation experience but are also connected to their deeper notions of appropriate gendered behavior. For instance, as we show elsewhere, some archetypical feminine traits are valued and encouraged for both male and female line staff members who are expected to engage in emotional labour (Spencer and Bean 2011). This concept, developed by Hochschild (1983) speaks to work which is done for wages that requires personal contact with the public, wherein creating a given state of mind in the client or user is part or the entire product being sold (Andersen 2006). Emotional labour in this sense can be subsumed under a wider umbrella


of ‘hospitality gender normativity’. This can be described as appropriate but un-codified gender norms associated with males and females who work in hotels which govern their work, actions and behavior, are unique to the specific demands of the hospitality industry and which are geared towards guest’s satisfaction. The coordinators also supported this idea that emotional labour was a major part of their work. The female coordinators interviewed, as well as one of the two male coordinators noted that customer service has to engender feelings of care and nurturing and ‘come from the heart’. These archetypical feminine characteristics are expected from both male and female employees in hotels. The male coordinator even went as far as saying that as a result, he never saw his job as an act in any way, and therefore was the only challenge to the writers’ intuitive expectation that typically coordinators see their roles as acts. He explained ‘you have to care about the people you are entertaining. You have to be their friend and not only show them a good time, but show them that you care about what will make their vacation good. I am a caring person and so this comes naturally.’

From our research, entertainment coordinators do more than engage in emotional labour, they also conform to each guest’s ideal performance of gender according to hetero-normative standards for their more intimate or personal interactions and any variation from the performance lessens the overall satisfaction of the guest. For instance, the women note that they are expected to amplify their femininity by being consistently cheerful, by smiling, and even being a bit sexy in their dress, demeanor and in their interactions with male co-workers on stage. Male coordinators who are charming, and have high energy levels would also be viewed as exuding acceptable male expressions. Men are also expected to take the lead in setting up props, lifting heavy boxes or sporting gear, as expressed by the male coordinators. How well coordinators adhere to these expectations directly influences the level of comfort that guests will feel with them.

The role of the gendered performance of the entertainment coordinator is particularly important in their role as ‘best friends’. Those interviewed explained that they must pick up on subtle cues given by the guest and act accordingly based on the needs of that person. For instance, when female coordinators interact with a male guest, they are more inclined to be charming, bordering on flirtatious and enticing. As Campos-Soria et al (2011:92) indicated ‘it is a cliché in the hospitality industry that “the right kind of personality” is a more important employment prerequisite than


formal qualifications. Personality tends to be used as a synonym for sexual attractiveness.’ As an interviewee noted ‘it is easy to be engaging with the male guests, they do flirt with you and at times you have to flirt back so as not to offend them. The key is not letting it go too far.’ When interacting with female guests however, they would be expected to be pleasant and caring without necessarily being playful as they are with the men. The coordinators also expressed that male guests are more likely to interact with female coordinators in the ‘best friend’ role than the males; who they interact with in group activities than in more intimate scenarios. Female guests tended to interact equally with male and female coordinators, but they were also inclined to engage in one-on-one interaction with the male coordinators more than the females.

The hotel industry has its own unwitting rules for gendered behaviour which may be slightly different from wider society, as seen above with the expectation for emotional labour from both men and women. These specialised standards, which we term ‘hospitality gender normativity’ must still be obeyed by employees however, and they are rewarded or sanctioned based on how guests react. Therefore they may perform an enjoyable form of gender even if this is not their personal preference. This is usually seen more in the case of male coordinators. As playmakers, a male coordinator may create a hyper-reality for guests, by being overly expressive, theatrical, and very pleasant (not typically accepted norms for masculinity outside the hotel space) and therefore his heterosexuality may be questioned. Indeed, the view that male entertainment coordinators are homosexuals is not rare among guests, and is often times, more of an expectation than a question. This was expressed by one of the male interviewees. He explained ‘The activities that a male coordinator engages in are questioned even if the female engages in the same activity. There is a myth that male coordinators are homosexuals.’ He also explained that his own sexuality has been questioned on occasion by guests. Even if he is not a homosexual, the fact that some stereotypical outward expressions of this are acceptable in this space may influence him to perform that way. In this case therefore, Butler’s ‘subversive homosexuality’ has been increasingly mainstreamed for the purposes of the entertainment coordinator act.

Interestingly, even guests who would usually frown on such expressions of masculinity in their daily interactions found this an acceptable performance of gender on the hotel stage and space. This was reflected in the fact that


even though the coordinator’s sexuality has been questioned, it was never done in a threatening manner to make him uncomfortable or fear for his safety. As a result, he reported that he still remained comfortable in his various roles despite the stereotypes that accompanied his job. It is also clear that even though the interviewee saw this assumption as a myth, there was little he could do about correcting it, and instead continued to ‘play the part’ on stage.

However, the entertainment coordinator has to act in a different manner as best friend if the guest is not as comfortable with this expression of sexuality in more intimate relations. A guest may expect and enjoy hyper-reality on stage because in their minds they can separate this from reality as an act. In this way they are ‘consumers’ of the performance. However as the coordinator becomes a friend or a reality to the guest who is now a co-performer in the interaction and not only an audience member, the expectations of accepted gendered expressions will change. A parallel point is made by Butler (1988: 527) who opines, ‘indeed, the sight of a transvestite onstage can compel pleasure and applause while the sight of the same transvestite on the seat next to us on the bus can compel fear, rage, even violence.’ Specific to this research, the performance of gender therefore has no ontological stability. It is fluid and necessitates change as determined by the guest’s expectations of accepted norms and the position of the guests as consumer vis-à-vis co-performer as explored by Weaver (2005).

There is therefore a great deal of acting, shifting of performances and improvisation of gender ideals required from coordinators. This requirement is influenced by guest expectation and interaction and specific directives from managers. When asked if they felt that they could be themselves on the job, all except one noted that while they enjoyed the reaction from guests to performances, they did not feel like they were free to be themselves because of ‘company standards and expectations of the job’, ‘catering to the needs of each guest’ and ‘policies and restrictions’. Though not willing to elaborate much on these restrictions, one can surmise that they are referring to the very specific guidelines carved out by managers to create an ideal personality type for the job at hand. Indeed, Crick (2000: 157) opines that coordinators are selected based on their ability to portray feelings rather than have those feelings and are rewarded for putting on a good act. In contrast, deviance from the expect norm is not tolerated. As a male respondent highlighted


‘some guests are quick to report everything about their stay. If you do well they tell those checking them out at the front desk, but if something happened that they don’t like, they are also quick to report it to a manager, so you have to really be careful to give them exactly what they want.’

Therefore, staged performances that please guests are an integral part of service management ‘the performance is primarily for the benefit of the consumer who is assumed to receive a better quality product or service’ (Crick 2000: 61). The staging of the show of entertainment coordinators is not accidental and is enforced through scripts and training to make the script look natural. This mirrors Butler’s view that the style of performance of gender has no essential truths, but is made to be natural and necessary. The hotel industry’s creation of a standard of necessary gender expressions of its employees is similarly ideological but is no less ‘real’ to the guests who now internalise these expectations and use them to determine their happiness with the product received.

Though the interviewees saw their roles as acts scripted for the pleasure of guests, they overwhelmingly saw their jobs as crucial to the survival of the property. The high regard which they have for their jobs was illustrated best by one of the female interviewees who expressed, ‘our role is very important. We ensure the guests have a good time when they are here and we are closer to them than the other hotel staff, so they talk to us as friends even after the activities and games are over’. She went on to explain that this high level of social interaction made the guests genuinely happy with their stay in the country and at the specific property. Hardly any guest leaves the hotel without some contact, knowledge or interest in the role of the coordinator. The role of best friend is at times, even more important to guests than staged entertainment, which some consider to be forced and an intrusion on their rest and relaxation. The coordinators were aware that some guests would rather a short conversation with them than participate in aerobic activities, dance contests and other activities. The overall view is that their role is a necessary cog in the hotel machinery.

While the respondents thought that their jobs were important, they hinted that management may not put enough premium on the roles and mainly focus on food and beverage preparation as the major determinants of guest satisfaction. This was illustrated by the fact that there is limited scope for


advancement within the job. Perhaps a more vivid indicator that their role is not considered as paramount is that the role of entertainment coordinators is not advertised to potential guests. Indeed as Crick (2000) illustrates, most first time guests to all-inclusive hotels arrive unaware of their existence as they are not portrayed as a part of the hotel’s attractions and amenities. Therefore despite the fact that the quality of the entertainment package is a major determinant of value for money for the all-inclusive guest behind quality of food and variety in restaurant offerings, managers are not seemingly capitalising on the value of the coordinators role though they have clear guidelines for what this role should be (Smith and Spencer 2011).

Conclusion

It is evident that the role, expressions and work of entertainment coordinators needs more on-going and extensive research. While managers accept that their role is important, the full dimensions of this role have not been conceptualised or capitalised on. For purposes of this area of work, it can be said that Butler’s work does offer some interesting and previously overlooked insights for the study of the roles of entertainment coordinators. The theory of gender performativity can open up new avenues for the study of creative industries in general and entertainment coordinators in particular. While we are not able to apply all areas of the ideology, there are some tenable links that can be made based on the nature of the job of entertainment coordinators. Their role has been shown to be unique among hotel employees. They have the most consistent personal interaction with guests, and actively perform with and for guests as a major part of the entertainment package of hotels. As such, both societal hetero-normative roles as well as hospitality gender normativity, impact on their interactions with guests. We have shown that hetero-normative roles tend to affect female coordinators more than male, while hospitality gender normativity creates a space where both male and females are expected to engage in emotional labour and where theatrical behaviour associated with male homosexuality is acceptable for male coordinators.

Entertainment coordinators are increasingly realising that expressions of gender are important to their work, and they have to act according to the expected roles that guests have of them as men and women within the hotel space. While perhaps not linking it to Butler’s theory, they are cognisant that


they not only have to perform on stage in entertaining ways, but also have to ‘perform’ gender according to each guest’s needs if they are interested in creating an overall enjoyable experience for them.

We opine that entertainment coordinator’s acts on and off stage are critical to the success of the hotel’s entertainment package and are buttressed by the established ‘hospitality gender normativity’ which has some implications for the success of the hotel itself. This is as a result of the interconnections of gender constructions, the work of the coordinators, and guests’ perceptions and satisfaction with their stay in hotels. While not overlooking the other key areas that are necessary for a successful hotel package such as food and beverage offerings, it is apparent that gender and acceptable behaviours and roles of men and women are subtly intrinsic to the inner workings of the industry and should be considered in strategies for marketing, hiring personnel and in the measurement of guest satisfaction.


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MacKenzie, J. (2008). ‘Judith Butler, gender, radical democracy: What islacking?’ Transformations: Journal of Media and Culture 16. Accessed at http://www.transformationsjournal.org/journal/issue_16/ editorial.shtml on 16th November 2011.Meng, F., Tepanon, Y., and Uysal, M. (2008). ‘Measuring tourist satisfaction by attribute and motivation.’ Journal of Vacation Marketing 14(1), 41-55. Pizam, A. and Shani, A. (2009). ‘The nature of the hospitality industry: Present and future managers’ perspectives.’ Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 20 (1), 134-150.Salih, S. (2002). ‘On Judith Butler and performativity.’ Sexualities and Communication, 55-68. Accessed at http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/ Salih-Butler-Performativity-Chapter_3.pdf on 14th November 2011. Smith T. and Spencer, A. (2011). ‘Predictors of value for money in Jamaican all-inclusive hotels.’ International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(4), 93-102.Spencer, A. and Bean, D. (2011). ‘Sex matters: Differences in perceptions of male and female line level employees about their work in the hospitality industry in Jamaica.’ International Journal of Arts and Sciences 4 (9), 413-426.Spreng, R. A., Mackenzie, S. B., and Olshavsky, R. W. (1996). ‘A reexamination of the determinants of customer satisfaction.’ Journal of Marketing 60, 15-32.Standford, S. (1997). ‘Contingent ontologies: Sex, gender and ‘woman’ in Simone de Beauvoir and Judith Butler.’ Radical Philosophy 97, 18-29. Weaver, A. (2005). ‘Interactive service work and performative metaphors: The case of the cruise industry.’ Tourist Studies 5(1), 5-27. Understanding Creative Industries: Cultural Statistics for public Policy Making, UNESCO. Accessed at http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/30297/11942616973 cultural_stat_EN.pdf/cultural_stat_EN.pdf on 12th October 2012.


Assessing the Potential of Diaspora Tourism

Sherma RobertsDepartment of Management Studies

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Barbados

Abstract

While there is a growing body of scholarship on transnationalism and diasporas, relatively little work is being done in the area of diaspora tourism. Diaspora tourism therefore, is still without a clear conceptual definition, and as a corollary, measurement remains elusive. One possible reason for this could be the privilege that is often ascribed to the economic value of travel and tourism, where the target market has no social ties with the destination receiving country. In this regard, diaspora tourism continues to be relegated to the proxy of visiting friends and relatives (VFR); with this segment’s contribution seldom being touted by destination organisations. Compounding this invisibility is that discourses around the Caribbean diaspora in particular, have traditionally ‘been dominated by materialist interpretations of movement….the so-called migration pushes and pulls’ (Thomas-Hope 2009: xxxvi). More recently, the focus has been on the value of remittances generated by this segment. However, there is increasing evidence to indicate that the growing transnational and regional circulation of people and their economic and social relationships have become so implicated into travel and tourism, to the extent that is raises questions around the complexities of identity, definitions of tourist, and potential contributions of this segment beyond tourist spend. Drawing upon secondary sources, this paper maps the contribution associated with migrant travel back to their native home for the purpose of leisure, and as a corollary proposes related strategic imperatives that Caribbean tourism



policy and decision makers can engage in the pursuit of this segment. Central to this discussion is an articulation of a definition of diaspora tourism. Key words: diaspora tourism, transnationalism, visiting friends and relatives (VFR),

Introduction

The first significant study on diaspora tourism was arguably conducted by Jackson (1990). While he does not explicitly use the term diaspora tourism, but chooses to engage the visiting friends and relatives nomenclature, his analysis suggests an examination of travel and tourism flows among major dominions (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) and between major dominions and smaller countries, in some instances, ex-colonies – the major purpose of which is to visit friends and relatives (VFRs). Pertinent to Jackson’s argument is that this segment, as far back as the 1980s constituted a major proportion of world tourism but has been (and still is) underestimated and undervalued. As a counter to this view, Duval (2003) indicates that over 57.8% of St. Vincent and the Grenadine visitors and 25.5% of Grenada’s tourist arrivals were the VFR market. A similar study of Samoan visitation back to their homeland to holiday also highlights the economic and social benefits of diaspora tourism (Scheyvens, 2007). In spite of this, the area of study remains under researched and the focus of most tourism research continues to be international (meaning foreign) tourists.

For the Caribbean with an estimated migration rate of over 5 million people (Nurse, 2004), it would seem axiomatic to strategically pursue this market, particularly in the face of declining arrivals from the traditional source markets. The significant movement of human capital from the Caribbean is enhanced by the fact that ‘it is not surplus or under-employed labour that is the main group of migrants. Instead it is the highly skilled and educated’ (Nurse, 2004:6). Carrington and Detragiache (1998 cited in Nurse, 2004) estimate that the across the region, migrants with tertiary education range from 22 per cent to 47 per cent – the latter being the case of Trinidad and Tobago. For Guyana, the migration rate among the well-educated is approximately 77 per

117Assessing the Potential of Diaspora Tourism

cent (Ibid). Of course these migration figures should be considered within the context of volume and epochs where the less educated may outnumber groups of professionals at certain periods.

Rationalising the pursuit of the diaspora segment for Caribbean countries, Bertrand (2002:3) argues that the Caribbean diaspora was now very much inclined to re-visit the region, with a primary motivation being to regularly return to roots’ to enjoy, albeit for a short-while, past lifestyles but on higher incomes, (and) the wish to demonstrate that emigration was the correct decision. Other motivations, he purports, include attending milestone family or significant cultural events and to introduce their children to their parents’ homeland. Moreover, this segment is likely to visit places that they ignored while residing in the community thus directly spreading tourism-generated income across the country. With respect to travel frequency, Orozco, Lowell, Bump and Fedewa (2005) note that 95,000 migrants travel from Miami on an annual basis, with Ecuadorians, Dominicans and Guyanese travelling more frequently than other immigrant groups. While these travel behaviours are not a new phenomenon per se, the argument is that they have been taken for granted by governments and more specifically, by tourism planners and marketers, who have unwittingly circumscribed this group to invisibility in tourism statistics either by not counting them or by subsuming them within the nationalities of their target markets.

In 2005, Dominican Republic migrants constituted 16% (602,445) of visitor arrivals and 13% in 2010 (Central Ban of the Dominican Republic cited in Hume, 2011). Similar patterns have been observed in Guyana, Jamaica, El Salvador (Orozco et al, 2005). Moreover, it is contended that this group is not vulnerable to changing international tastes, perceived security threats or media representations of their home country (Seaton and Tagg, 1995; Scheyvens, 2007). From the perspective of sustainable tourism, other authors suggest that diaspora tourism has the potential to deliver on socio-economic sustainability objectives (Hall and Duval, 2004). These objectives relate to notions of profitability in both the immediate and long term, empowerment of residents, enhanced social cohesion and the facilitation of national development.

Against this background, this study aims to interrogate the potential contribution of diaspora tourism with the view of providing some strategic recommendations that can assist the Caribbean tourism industry. The paper


is divided into three parts. Section one presents an analysis of the current literature pertaining to diaspora tourism, VFR travel, ethnic tourism and related nomenclatures is conducted with the view of articulating a definition of the term diaspora tourism. This is followed by a documentary examination of the socio-economic contributions and potential of the diaspora tourism market. Finally, some broad strategic imperatives are proposed that could potentially assist the Caribbean region in harnessing the benefits associated with diaspora travel.

Towards a Definition of Diaspora Tourism

The nascent nature of diaspora tourism makes definition of the term difficult and contested. The definitional complexity largely stems from the contestation around the notion of diaspora which involves questions of movement of people, heritage and identity, connections between homeland and host nation, and nostalgia (Clifford, 1997; Duval, 2003; Hall and Duval, 2004; Trotz, 2006). Safran (1991) sees the diaspora as having three key elements including periphery to centre movements, conscious retention of homeland memories and a sense that the diaspora community is not welcome in the natal or homeland. While the majority of movements tend to be from periphery to core, they may also include movements to similar geographies albeit with improved social and economic conditions. Unlike Safran, Cohen’s (1997) conceptualisation of the diaspora is that of a much more heterogeneous group with typologies of victim (exile), labour, imperial, trade, and cultural diasporas. In fact, it is very possible that diaspora communities are a combination of some or all of these facets, which are constantly changing and responding to home, host and global situations (Skeldon, 2004; Hume, 2011).

Despite the lack of agreement on the definition of diaspora, there is general consensus that transnational communities or diasporas evince certain characteristics including

sense of connection to ancestral cultures, nations of origins, ethnic histories and myths/memories of past homes and also to “routes” that construct a deterritorialised community… and travelling cultures that produce a sense of self linked to local, global, and multi, supra or transnational communities (Joseph, 2011:163).


Tourism studies and research have largely taken this relationship between migration and travel and linked or equated it to visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel.

VFR tourism is often broadly defined as persons who travel for the primary purpose of visiting friends and relatives (Braunlich and Nadkarni, 1995; Yuan, Fridgen, Hsieh, O’Leary, 1995). This definition has however been questioned by some authors who argue that there is a blurring between VFR as ‘trip purpose’ or ‘trip activity’ (Morrison, Hsieh, O’Leary, 1995). In other words, is visiting friends and relatives the primary motivation for travel or is it one of the activities that this segment engages in once in the destination? If indeed, it is the latter, then the size and significance of the VFR market might be understated and undervalued. King (1994) cogently argues that VFR is really a convenient category used by National Tourism Organisations that speaks only to mode of accommodation used by this segment. In this regard, he suggests that ethnic tourism is a better descriptor that embraces a ‘full understanding of the motivation for travel’ which derives from a ‘sense of belonging’ (1994:174). Duval (2003) also sees VFR as inadequate in describing diasporic communities visiting their home country and suggests the use of the term “return visit” which has connotations of familiarity, kinship or social networks and where the returnee is part of a larger past episodic voluntary migration pattern. This definition is rightly challenged by Scheyvens (2007) who points out that foreign visitors making repeat visits to the same destination can also be categorised as ‘repeat visit’. The ascription can also be disputed on the grounds that the reasons for migration may not always be voluntary.

Seaton and Tagg (1995) take the argument a bit further, suggesting that the VFR market should not be seen as a homogenous group. In a similar vein, (Skeldon, 2004:179) reasons that the ‘diaspora is not a coherent, homogenous entity but rather a constantly changing and fractured phenomenon.’ Thus, while some authors have attempted segmentation of VFR based upon holiday activities (Morrison, Hsieh, O’Leary, 1995), others have called for further segmentation or disaggregation of the VFR market into three sub-categories: VF (visiting friends), VR (visiting relatives) and VFVR (those visiting both) (Seaton and Tagg, 1995). The rationale for this is that activities, spending patterns, accommodation preference and length of stay may differ significantly among these groups and need to be accounted for separately.


In an exploratory study conducted among visitors to Northern Ireland, it was found that the VF is a younger market composed of students who were often visiting for the first time and for a short period. In contrast, the VR segment was older, slightly more upmarket and tended to stay for longer periods with frequent repeat visits. These persons also were born in Ireland and were more likely to travel as families. The VFVR segment reflected more in common with the VR group; however a noticeable difference was their propensity to travel by sea and despite staying with friends and relatives tended to spend more on transport and meals (Seaton and Tagg, 1995).

Where the foregoing has sought definitional clarity through segmentation of the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market, some organisations (World Travel Market, 2007) have chosen to define diaspora tourism according to motivation. So that, there are heritage tourists – members of the diaspora who travel to their homelands to discover their ancestry; festival tourists, which includes diasporic persons or groups returning to their home country for important events and festivals like Christmas and Carnival; and residential tourists, who are usually second home owners with the second home being located in the home land. Mortley (2011) notes that the majority of Jamaican diaspora tourists are motivated by the need to relax and to reconnect with family and friends, so that leisure and attending special holiday events such as Portland Jerk Festival, family reunions, weddings and funerals are key to their return visits.

Issues of identity and sense of belonging are also crucial to our understanding of diaspora tourism. Christou and King (2010) in their discussion of Greek-German second generation visits to the homeland of their forefathers, speak about the intersecting motivations of home and belonging and the ‘emotional landscapes’ that frame the tropes of diasporic identities. These landscapes involve relationships with kin, family land, villages and islands of ancestral origin (Ibid) and mediate the usually ambiguous and flexible relationship to home. This sense of identity related to travel to seek out lost ‘roots’ comes closer to King’s (1994) understanding and use of the term ‘ethnic tourism.’ Reflecting this discourse, Joseph (2011:162) demonstrates how the game of cricket serves as a diasporic resource that ‘expresses, reinforces and generates social and cultural connectedness to particular lands and identities.’ Referring to this group’s travel to St. Lucia she further states

At cricket matches they spoke in their native dialects, entrenched


kinship ties, and played and watched the sport with antics on the field and banter around the boundary which preserved their heritage. (Ibid)

Similarly, Hume (2011) addresses the ‘poetics of nostalgia’ evident among Dominicans resident in New York who travel back to reconnect with homeland, family, customs and traditions. Hume contends that it is this ‘very strong familial connection that stands as the most exploitable feature of the diasporic tourist’ (Hume 2011:159). Interestingly, and in contrast to previous studies, second generation migrants are also implicated into these the Dominican cultural geography of home, belonging and identity, albeit less so. Their visits to the natal home of their parents is not so much to reconnect but to ‘conocer a mi paÍs’ or learn more about their country and heritage (Hume 2011:164). Roberts (2010) reported similar findings among second generation Guyanese migrants living in Canada. The notion of ethnic tourism, the interplay between identity, nostalgia and travel, and the focus on motivations suggest certain commonalities which may provide a good basis for fashioning a working definition of diaspora tourism. These common characteristics centre around international and intraregional migration, maintenance of strong kinship ties, identification and sense of belonging to the country of birth or of one’s parents country of birth, formation of social and economic networks to facilitate the sharing of information, goods, etc., and motivations for travel that would include but are not limited to visiting friends and relatives. Thus, while travel motivations are undoubtedly a crucial part of defining diaspora tourism, the above discussion highlighted the fact that it is quite difficult to capture primary motivation, partly because of the limited nature of immigration forms and the general difficulty in capturing the underlying motivation behind such VFR related visits. Defining diaspora tourism must therefore go beyond travel motivations and the contested VFR nomenclature to include the converging dynamics of migration, identity, memory, place and motivation. Against this background, the definition being proposed for diaspora tourism is ‘an engagement with persons living and working in metropolitan countries or other perceived ‘economic cores’ whose socialisation, networks, values and heritage link them to communities and kinship ties in their birth country; and who travel back to these communities primarily to (re) connect with


people and place.’ Of necessity though, some of the ensuing discussion will draw on the VFR tourism literature – one because the phenomenon of ‘diaspora tourism’ is fairly new and two, because part of the motivation for diaspora tourism can definitely be visiting friends and relatives- albeit in one’s homeland.

An analysis of the socio-economic contributions of diaspora tourism

In general, it can be argued that Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) have paid very little attention to the diaspora market segment because of its perceived low economic impact. Scheyvens (2007) contends that the value of the diasporic tourism is largely underestimated as it is seen as the ‘poor cousin’ of international tourism. The common assumption is that diaspora ‘travelers make little use of commercial accommodation, restaurants, attractions and other tourist facilities’ (Morrison et al, 1995:61). Studies conducted by Braunlich and Nadkarni (1995) and other authors have to a large extent challenged this assumption. For example, in studying the accommodation patterns of the VFR market in the USA East North Central region, Braunlich and Nadkarni (1995) found that 21.4 per cent (where n=3564) stayed in hotels and motels with only one-fifth staying in full service hotels. The authors also noted that in comparison to leisure tourists, who stayed 3.3 nights, VFR travelers spent an average of 5.7 nights.

In a socio-demographic segmentation study of the VFR market in Queensland Australia (where n=2,064), the majority of the respondents used accommodation other than the homes of their friends or relatives. In terms of these segments, the youngest VFR group had the highest rate of use of rented accommodation at 64.3 per cent (Morrison et al, 1995). With respect to Jamaican diasporas living in the United Kingdom, the data reveals that they tended to spend longer (19.4 days) than the foreign tourists (7.8-10 days), which would have implications for general spending patterns (Mortley, 2011).

In terms of accommodation type, Scheyvens (2007) found that Samoan diasporic tourist preferred to stay in budget beach accommodation (called fales), where meals are provided. What is important to note here, is that the income generated by the rental of these fales – often locally-owned - circulates in the Samoan economy, creating several other multipliers. This


is in contrast to foreign-owned accommodation that is associated with high leakages; particularly when mediated by low levels of national or regional economic development.

While the foregoing has highlighted the inclusion of diaspora tourists into tourism facilities, Hume (2011) highlights the articulation of liminal spaces within the context of ‘diaspora’ and ‘tourism.’ With reference to diasporas visiting their homeland of the Dominican Republic she observes:

…the term ‘tourist’ within the Dominican parlance and spatialised reality signals a particular clientele, race and behavior linked to …designated tourist zones… and dominated by those who are not Dominicans… the State and population often do not cater to them in part because they are not recognised to be tourist ( Hume, 2011:159-160).

This Statist perception runs counter to the way the Dominican diasporas see themselves; in fact ‘they identified themselves as being tourist or engaging in tourist activity….which included visiting the cigar factory, purchasing nostalgic goods and souvenir in local shops, sightseeing and nature tours’ (p.160). Thus, while the diasporas are capable of this dual or binary identities that spring from being ‘both at home and visiting’, there is a sense of liminality that tourism officials find difficult to reconcile and cater to. In other words, diasporas visiting home can often occupy a ‘limbo-like space’ that relegates them to invisibility in the policies and practices of tourism stakeholders. Crossing the threshold where they are viewed as ‘tourists vacationing at home’ will require an ontological shift in the tourist industry; but as argued here, a shift that can provide substantial socio-economic benefits to the destination. The activities that diasporas engage in while visiting vary among the various VFR clusters (Morrison et al, 1995) and confirm that even within the VFR segment there is a noticeable amount of heterogeneity which tourism marketers must understand and strategise around. For the older VR market, activities were either sedentary ‘just relaxing’ or involved some form of sightseeing or beach activity - usually swimming. Activities for the younger group included clubbing, going for drinks in restaurants and sightseeing (Morrison et al, 1995). A report on transnational migration and engagement in Latin America (Orozco et al, 2005) and the Caribbean reveals


that returning migrants tend to visit for annual or special events - Christmas, New Years, weddings, funerals - and typically spend at least US$1000 per stay, mostly on entertainment and family. In Suriname, expenditure by VFR tourists moved from 55.6 per cent in 2004 to 50.7 per cent by 2007 (Nurse, 2011) ranking third behind leisure and business tourists.

Asieudu (2005) points out that Ghanaian nationals returning home spend on average £2769 on international travel, £585 on incidentals and £433 on food and entertainment. A smaller amount (£274) was spent on commercial accommodation. Beyond the spend associated with travel, Ghanaian nationals returning for holidays strengthen the social fabric of their villages by contributing ‘donation of cash, drugs, materials, equipment….migrant funds have therefore aided poverty alleviation in the recipient country’ (Asieudu, 2005:9). The developmental benefits associated with diaspora visitation are also emphasised by Joseph (2011). Referring to cricket as a ‘diasporic resource’ for Caribbean-Canadian cricket clubs, she notes that the

diasporic sport tourists do not only observe or play sports but also actively contribute to the local sporting culture through financial and material donations to cricket clubs they visit….use taxis run by their family members …they take nostalgic tours and engage in holiday activities (p.162).

It is the potential positive economic impact of diaspora tourism flows that has led the Philippines government to enact ‘special provisions in the tourism industry so as to attract return visits to their homeland…’ (Jackson, 1990:11). The special provisions provided the opportunity for Filipino residents to buy up to US$2,000 of duty free goods at shops in the Philippines. Similarly, Idaho used a ‘wish you were here’ campaign aimed at luring back out-of-state residents as well as encouraging them to invite a friend or relative along with them (Morrison et al, 1995). In recognition of the loyalty (not so much economic value) of the Barbados diaspora, the Barbados Tourism Authority launched a ‘Barbados Family and Friends’ club in 2009, which rewarded members in the currency of the registered country of residence of the member. Members can earn 250 points for every visitor they send to the island, and also receive special discounts from participating hotels, and other tourist services (Barbados Tourism Authority, 2013 www.barbadosfamilyandfriends.com). As of May 2011, 1112 members were registered. (Ibid)


Worthy of mention is that diaspora tourism can be held partially responsible for the growth in the nostalgic trade in indigenous products (Orozco et al, 2005; Newland and Taylor, 2010), the purchase of which serves as another symbol of identity and belonging. Nurse (2011) also suggests that diaspora tourism has become a facilitator of investment in the area of medical tourism. For example, in the last few years, Suriname has witnessed a steady growth in the number of medical tourism investments, specifically pertaining to physical care hotel facilities, rehabilitative surgery, physiotherapy and other related services (Nurse, 2011). Of note is that the primary target market for these H2H (hotel to hospital) facilities is the diasporic market, particularly seniors, resident in Amsterdam.

The interconnectedness between the range of motivations, activities, spending patterns and sense of place evinced by diaspora tourists suggests that there needs to be a greater recognition of the value of the diasporas and their contribution to the wider economy. In fact, with the exception of Grenada, Barbados and Jamaica, very few Caribbean governments have specifically and deliberately targeted the diaspora. And, in these cases the targeting is with respect to knowledge transfer, social entrepreneurship and investment opportunities not tourism. One suspects that the assumption used by the DMOs is that the diaspora market already exists in the key source markets. This point has been made by Scheyvens (2007:318) with respect to government’s perspective on actively wooing the Samoan diaspora – ‘tourism staff are not concerned with attracting Samoan tourists, because the attitude is that they will come anyway.’ However as the previous discussion suggested, the diaspora market (including VFR) may contain several unique segments, so that specific attention needs to be paid to their travel patterns, accommodation choices and general behavior while on holiday

What emerges from these findings is a picture of diasporan tourists who use tourism as a vehicle for maintaining identity and cultural, social and economic connectedness to their natal home. Deliberate attention to this tourist segment by tourism marketers, and policy makers in general can position the diaspora as a valuable resource not only in terms of traditional tourist spending but also as conduits for the development of knowledge transfer and networks, capacity building and poverty reduction. Further, any strategy aimed towards this segment must contend with the tensions that are unintentionally bound up in the articulation of ‘diaspora tourism.’


Strategic Antecedents

While the foregoing has highlighted the contribution of the diaspora tourist in terms of travel and spending behaviours within their natal home, the formulation of strategic policy to harness these benefits are admittedly more difficult, given the heterogeneity, duality of (or more) identities and selectivism implicit in the notion of diaspora tourism.

These tensions are referred to here as ‘strategic antecedents’ and even though an in-depth treatment of the same is not possible, it is important to demonstrate that policy proposals will not be a ‘neat fit.’ Firstly, as was intimated earlier, the sense of diasporas identity is nuanced and complicated. Not only do diasporas (perhaps more so second generation born outside of their ancestral home) struggle in their sense of ‘not quite belonging to here or there’ but these dual spaces and multiple identities that they occupy and own, is sometimes challenged by the national imagination. Duany (2009) refers to the pejorative phrase los de afuera (those from outside) that is given to Puerto Ricans who migrated to Chicago and return home for visits and in Grenada return national are labeled JCB (just come back). Byron (1995 cited in Thomas-Hope, 2009: xxxvi) echoes similar sentiments ‘they generally feel misunderstood and surprised that they are identified with the foreign country in which they lived and thus are not immediately reincorporated into the ‘home’ society at all levels.’ The dialectics of identity are also reflected in attitudes to the diasporas inhabiting or transiting certain tourist landscapes, where as Hume (2011) mentions they are often not welcome even though in the case of the Dominican, they see themselves as both ‘tourist and returning national.’

Adding to this complexity is the fact the diaspora himself/herself may resent being labeled ‘tourist’ while at home despite meeting the United Nation World Tourism Organisation criteria and definition of ‘tourist.’ Further, he/she may even reach for their multiple identities (returning national or tourist) when navigating certain spheres. For example, in filling out the immigration form they may locate themselves within the context of the address of the ancestral home but should they stay in paid accommodation, their current country of residence is used. This dilemma of dual identities presents challenges for tourism policy makers and research officers, in the development of tourism services catering to this niche and the collection


and collation of statistics, respectively. On the other hand, it may also be argued that the categorisation of diasporas as tourists seeks to minimising their legitimate claim to their homeland and roots. In fact, these tensions may well form part of the explanation for the diasporas’ delegitimisation as tourists by policy makers.

The second problematique that policymakers must work through before policy is crafted is the heterogeneous and plural nature of the diaspora. The question of who comprises the diaspora is one that remains contested. In other words, how many generations backwards and forward can be counted as diaspora tourists? The definition proposed in the introduction suggests particular characteristics that can be used in the delimitation. This is also closely related to the third antecedent that of selectivism. Further, is that there may be an implicit tendency to valorise the diaspora that can afford to travel back home, give back to the community and utilise tourism services; so that ‘the other diaspora’, that of the less well-heeled, is ignored or relegated to invisibility. What emerges in this discourse is the issue of class which is superimposed on this ‘translocal community intertwined by affective, family and cultural links’ (Duany 2009:197) but one in which the sense of identity and belonging to home may be no less evident between and among these groups.

The diasporas sense of the imagined home and his/her place in it when he/she travels back home to (re)connect is perhaps at odds with the normative perspectives of tourism policymakers. On the other, it may not be. Thus, any discussion of these tensions must avoid rigorous generalisation because of the fluidity and dynamism of the diaspora itself and the complexity of cultural geographies of home, belonging and identity (Christou and King, 2010). Nonetheless, an understanding and acknowledgment of the challenging issues inherent in pursuing this niche segment is crucial if we wish to harness the full benefits of their travel experiences. The ensuing discussion considers some strategic imperatives for consideration by Caribbean tourism destinations in their pursuit of diaspora tourism.

Strategic Imperatives

Five imperatives are put forward, the goal of which is to leverage the benefits of a niche whose benefits are not simply ‘circumscribed to visiting friends and relatives but to a wider range of activities that contribute to the


tourism economy’ (Hume, 2011:160). First, governments should articulate a clear policy statement on tourism development, best evidenced by a Tourism Master Plan. This policy will provide a framework for action for all tourism stakeholders and would assist in galvanising resources towards the fulfillment of the policy’s objectives. Jessop (2010) even goes so far as to suggest a coordinated Caribbean diaspora strategy, of which one of the planks is tourism. Second, and related to the first point is the development of a diaspora policy and strategy similar to that of Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada where Ministries of Foreign Affairs spearhead several initiatives to strengthen links and enhance diaspora contribution to national development (Mortley, 2011). The intersectionality between these two policies should create a clear space for the pursuance of diaspora tourism including the deliberate inclusion of diaspora tourists into praxis and the enhancement of the trade in nostalgia products and where applicable, an elimination of duties for donations and gifts to schools and communities. As a corollary, the tourism master plan or policy statement should incorporate a marketing plan targeted towards the diaspora segment, which acknowledges that there are nuances across the generations of migrants and their children.

Third, greater attention should be paid to mining data on diaspora travel patterns, buying preferences, accommodation choices, and activities while at home. This type of intelligence would create a platform for more strategic marketing to the diaspora by the DMO as well as its partners (travel agents, niche tour operators, airlines) located in the key source markets. Fourth, the strong connection that the diaspora has to the natal home provides an opportunity to create market campaigns and event led tourism products that are tied to their travel patterns. Cultural tourism products (for example, literary, music and culinary festivals) may be one such niche as these have the potential to strengthen sectoral linkages through entrepreneurship and also serve as vehicles for diasporas of generations to learn more about their heritage.

Fifth, it is imperative that we tap into the knowledge networks of the diaspora through educational exchanges, institutional visits, research partnerships, and conferences. All of these activities constitute education tourism but with emphasis being placed upon our ‘financially rich and intellectually strong’ diaspora who are willing to give back in some way. In this way, the benefits of tourism go well beyond the immediacy of the industry as it builds the social


and intellectual fabric of the homeland. Finally it is crucial to launch an educational campaign aimed at the local tourism supply sectors -attractions, accommodation providers, event planners, transport, ground tour operators and restaurants - that would address the imperative of the industry valorising this segment as ‘tourists’ and not as ‘nationals who come back.’ Within this frame, diaspora tourism will allow for the progression towards the sustainable tourism development objective of equitable involvement where spatial demarcations are erased or minimised and where diaspora tourists are treated with the same level of service as the foreign tourists. Moreover, the power of word of mouth (WOM) and electronic - WOM from the visiting diaspora would be unmatched among their reference groups, colleagues, and other networks.

Summary Reflections

Notions of sustainable tourism which emphasises inclusion of locals not only as workers, but also as consumers and producers of the tourism product, privileges diaspora tourism as a crucial niche market. The discussion has highlighted the positive benefits that accrue as a result of diasporic engagement. Thus unlike the “Northerner” who visits the destination to sample its climate, and cultural offerings and leaves with a ‘tan, memories and photos’ (Scheyvens, 2007) the diaspora tourist invests significant funds to build up the social infrastructure of his homeland. This segment therefore holds significant promise for sustained socio-economic development of the Caribbean region.

Engagement with diaspora tourism as a concept and in practice is however not without its challenges. Antecedents such as selectivism, identities and heterogeneity must be acknowledged in any discussion of diaspora tourism policy. There may be many more as the layers of who constitutes the diaspora are peeled away. In light of this, there can be no passive container of policy prescriptive.

Policy imperatives should therefore pay attention to the high levels of heterogeneity in the diaspora market and the increasing interest among second generation migrants who may exhibit very different purchasing patterns and holiday behavior than their parents. In other words, the diaspora should not be conceived as ‘low hanging fruit’ as they are as complex as other


markets; requiring sound intelligence to capture their interest and attention. Their value as important first movers could also assist local DMOs to break into certain international markets niches. The Caribbean diaspora tourist has choice, and while they may have a strong affinity to the land of their birth or that of their parents, if we fail through our lack of imagination to reach out to them, other destinations through their marketing programmes are certain to capitalise on the comparative advantages that the diasporas possess.

ReferencesAsieudu, A. (2005). ‘Some benefits of migrants’ return visits to Ghana.’ Population, Space and Place 11:1-11.Barbados Tourism Authority ( 2013) Barbados Family and Friends Club, www.barbadosfamilyandfriends.com. Accessed 28 November, 2013.Bertrand, I. (2002). Concept paper on Diaspora Tourism prepared for the Association of Caribbean States. Colombia: El Perial Management Services.Braunlich, C., and Nadkarni, N. (1995). ‘The Importance of the VFR Market to the Hotel Industry.’ The Journal of Tourism Studies 6: 38-47.Clifford, J. (1997). Routes: Travel and translation in the late twentieth century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Cohen, R. (1997). Global Diasporas: An Introduction. USA: University of Washington Press.Christou, A. and R. King (2010). ‘Imagining “home”: Diasporic Landscapes of Greek-German Second Generation.’ Geoforum 41 (4), 638-646.Duany, J. (2009) The Nation in the Diaspora: Multiple Repercussions of Puerto Rican Emigration In: P. Clegg and E.Pantosjas-Garcia (eds.) Governance in the Non-independent Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities in the Twenty- First Century. Jamaica: Ian Randle. Pp. 182-202.Duval, D. T. (2003). ‘When hosts become guests: return visits and diasporic identities in a Commonwealth Eastern Caribbean community.’ Current Issues in Tourism 6: 267-308.Hall, C. M., and D. T. Duval (2004). ‘Linking Diasporas and Tourism: transnational mobilities of Pacific Islanders resident in New Zealand,’ in T. Coles and D.J. Timothy (eds.) Tourism, Diasporas and Space. London: Routledge. pp 78-94.Hume, Y. (2011). ‘Diaspora Tourism in the Dominican Republic: Capitalizing on Circular Migration.’ Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 17. pp.:155-170.


Jackson, R. (1990). ‘VFR Tourism: Is it Underestimated?’ The Journal of Tourism Studies 1:10- 17.Jessop, D. (2010). ‘The Caribbean needs a Co-ordinated Regional Strategy for its Worldwide Diaspora.’ Starbroek News, 28 March, 2010. www.starbroeknews.com . Accessed 6 April, 2013.Joseph, J. (2011). ‘A Diaspora Approach to Sport Tourism.’ Journal of Sport and Social Issues 35: 146-167.King, B. (1994). ‘What is ethnic tourism? An Australian Perspective.’ Tourism Management 15. pp.173-176.Morrison, A., S. Hsieh and J. O’Leary (1995). ‘Segmenting the Visiting Friends and Relatives Market by Holiday Activity Participation.’ Journal of Tourism Studies 6. pp. 48-62.Mortley, N. (2011). ‘Strategic Opportunities from Diaspora Tourism: The Jamaican Perspective.’ Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 17. pp.:171-185.Newland, K. and C. Taylor (2010). Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape. Washington: Migration Policy InstituteNurse, K. (2004). ‘Diaspora, Migration and Development in the Caribbean’ FOCAL, Policy Paper, September 04-6: 3-10.Nurse, K. (2011). ‘Diasporic Tourism and Investment in Suriname.’ Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 17. pp. 142-154.Orozco, M. L. Lowell, M. Bump, and R. Fedewa (2005). Transnational Engagement, Remittances and their relationship to Development in Latin America and the Caribbean. Georgetown University: Institute for the Study of International Migration. Roberts, S. (2010). Interim Report. ‘Unearthing “new” gold: An exploratory analysis of diaspora tourism flows between Toronto and Canada.’ Paper Presented at the Caribbean Studies Association Conference, Barbados, May 2010.Safran, W. (1991). ‘Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Homeland and Return.’ Diaspora 1. pp.83-99.Scheyvens, R. (2007). ‘Poor Cousins no More: Valuing the development potential of domestic and diaspora tourism’. Progress in Development Studies 7. pp. 307-325.Seaton, A. and S. Tagg. (1995). ‘Disaggregating Friends and Relatives in VFR Tourism Research: The Northern Ireland evidence 1991- 1993.’ The Journal of Tourism Studies 6. Pp. 6-18.Skeldon, R. (2004). More than remittances: Other aspects of the relationship Between Migration and Development. www.un.org/populationdivision/ . Accessed on 29 March 2010.


Thomas-Hope, E. (2009) Introduction: Cultures of Freedom and Constraint in Caribbean Migration and Diaspora In: E. Thomas-Hope (ed.) Freedom and Constraint in Caribbean Migration and Diaspora. Jamaica: Ian Randle. Pp. xxv-xlvi.Trotz, A. (2006). ‘Rethinking Caribbean Transnational Connections: Conceptual Itineraries.’ Global Networks 6. pp. 41-59.Yuan T., J. Fridgen, S. Hsieh and J. O’Leary, J. (1995). ‘Visiting Friends and Relatives Travel Market: The Dutch Case.’ The Journal of Tourism Studies 6. pp:19-26. World Travel Market (2007). Global Trends Report. London: World Travel Market in Association with Euromonitor International.


Towards Defining Culinary Tourism in the Caribbean

Marcia TaylorDivision of Resort and Hospitality Management

Florida Gulf Coast University, USAand

Clive MuirCollege of Liberal Arts

Fort Valley State University, USA

Introduction

The Caribbean is well known for its powder-sand beaches and warm climate, but as the competition among destinations offering such amenities increases, the region must find new ways to keep attracting tourists and maintain its share of the travel market. In recent years, some Caribbean destinations have introduced plan and programs as part of a culinary tourism initiative. This paper discusses the definition and marketing of culinary tourism in the Caribbean, the types of culinary amenities and programs offered, and some untapped opportunities for culinary tourism in the region.

Culinary tourism is a growing tourism market that has the potential to generate millions of dollars in the economy (Romeo, 2005). Culinary programs and activities include food festivals and shows, cooking schools, visits to farms and wineries, food markets, restaurants, and epicurean retreats and resorts (Long, 2004). This type of tourism, already popular in many parts of the world, is slowly growing in the Caribbean, but still has tremendous potential. The long-term objective for studying this topic is to see how the concept of culinary tourism is defined among Caribbean planners and promoters, how culinary programs and projects might fit into traditional and contemporary tourism products in the Caribbean, and how the region might compete successfully in the worldwide culinary tourism market. For this discussion, we define culinary tourism as travel for the purpose of experiencing the



culinary cultures of an area through visiting local restaurants, attending cooking classes, attending cultural festivals, visiting markets and farms, and related activities at the destination.

Culinary Tourism Trends

Food has always been an essential component of tourism (Shenoy, 2005), and local foods add to the overall tourist experience (Symons, 1999). Some argue that food serves as a form of destination identity (Yi-Chin and Pearson, 2009). Culinary tourism has become popular due to the increasing interest in food channels, travel shows featuring local and regional cuisine, food documentaries and online culinary travel shows, and this has prompted more travelers to visit destinations specifically for new food and wine experiences (Karimi, 2001). Erik Wolf, president of the International Culinary Tourism Association, and an ardent promoter of and consultant in the field, defines culinary tourism as ‘the pursuit of unique and memorable culinary experiences’ (Wolf, 2011), and he credits the interest in food to the media and social networking sites that expose people to the cuisine and culture of places around the world. Furthermore, where communication about culinary experiences was once dominated by revered (and feared) food writers at newspapers and magazines, the process is now more democratic with thousands of bloggers and reviewers sharing positive and negative views for millions of readers around the world. This heightened exposure to food talk in the traditional and online media has motivated people to design travel and leisure experiences around food activities, even as they spend less time in their own kitchens (Sharples, 2003).

In the United States, the largest culinary tourism market, there has been a surge in food related travel. Every state promotes culinary activities on the popular website FoodReference.com. States such as Michigan (more associated with auto production) and Mississippi (not usually seen as a cultural destination), have developed full-fledged programs to promote regional cuisines, wineries, and farms to attract day travelers in the region and tourists from other places (USA Today, 2007). The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources provides detailed guidelines to farmers and non-farm businesses on getting started in culinary tourism (Webber, 2012). Beyond the established culinary destinations (San Francisco, New Orleans, New York and Chicago), cities such as Charleston (South Carolina), Las Vegas, Portland (Oregon), and even Washington, D.C. have developed and promoted a range of culinary attractions and programs.

135Introduction

European destinations such as Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and Germany have attracted travelers from around the world to experience their cultures, foods, and wines for many decades. Culinary tourism was formally recognised by the Italians in the 1990’s, when the government allowed anyone who owned a farmhouse and a plot of land to open a bed-and-breakfast with stipulation that the farm, agriturismi, had to teach guests about its produce. Activities such as culinary classes, olive picking and pressing, and grape harvesting and stumping were offered (Nadeau, 2001). Wales, probably the least known part of the British Isles, received enormous publicity and interest in its ‘Taste of Wales’ program which celebrates rural life through food (Taste of Wales, 2012). The fall of communism and reconfiguration of countries across Europe has allowed places such as the Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, and even Russia to welcome travelers to their cultural and culinary offerings that have been hidden for so many years. Perhaps the most intriguing development in culinary tourism is the staggering rise of ‘designed’ Scandinavian cuisine—think Ikea meets food (Savage, 2012). Copenhagen, Denmark has been crowned ‘Europe’s Best Town for Foodies’ by Travel and Leisure magazine (Sachs, 2012), and Noma, a Copenhagen restaurant, has again been voted the best restaurant in the world for the third year in a row by Restaurant magazine (Davies, 2012).

Other countries have developed culinary tourism initiatives and programs. Most significant is Thailand’s massive campaign, ‘Thai Kitchens of the World,’ led by the country’s Ministry of Commerce, the Thai National Food Institute, and a coalition of tourism and trade organisations. Their activities include hosting seminars and cooking classes around the world for people in the hospitality and travel trades, recruiting Thais around the world to serve as food ambassadors, exhibiting at food shows such as the National Restaurant Association, and project 20,000 new restaurants in Thai towns and other cities worldwide (Today in Asia, 2009). Coincidentally, one of their target cities is Copenhagen. On a smaller scale, India has embarked on its own culinary tourism programs offering cooking schools and tours to defined cuisine regions of the country (Nazimiec, 2012). Similar programs have been launched by Australia (Cambourne and Macionis, 2003); Taiwan (Taiwan Newsletter, 2008); New Zealand (Smith and Hall, 2003); Peru (Picaperu, 2012); and South Africa (du Rand, et al., 2003).

Culinary Tourism in the Caribbean

The Caribbean region has the highest concentration of island countries and popular tourist destinations on the planet. The physical geography of the islands and the tourism products are quite similar: wide expanses of beaches,


seaside resorts, accessible harbors for cruise ships, and a high-travel season that is regularly marketed as occurring between December 15 and April 15 to coincide with the winters of North America and Europe. As well, Caribbean countries had a somewhat similar experience with European colonisation and African slavery, so that the peoples and cultures bear remarkable similarity. While the countries have strong ties to their European colonisers, economic and cultural co-operation has increased among them, and there have been attempts to research, plan and develop tourism activities through the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and the Caribbean Hotel Association. However, each country controls its tourism planning and promotions, and the region probably has the highest expenditures per capita for tourism promotion in the world. To more effectively market themselves in this intensely competitive situation, tourism planners and promoters on each island have sought to do two things: 1) to lengthen the tourist travel season to most of the calendar year, and 2) to diversify the market segments that have long been attracted to the region. The last two decades have seen a marked increase in summer travel, particularly among returning residents who take advantage of independence and emancipation celebrations, school breaks, and greater access to resorts in traditionally white tourist enclaves of the islands. Other new tourist segments are attracted to natured-based travel to the islands hilly interior as well as the down-to-earth lifestyle of small communities located off the tourist track. The increased interaction with island residents has opened opportunities for sharing a host of cultural products normally reserved for anthropologist and adventurers, and traditions and folkways are more vividly expressed in advertising and slogans such as ‘We are more than a beach, we are a country.’

Culinary tourism is a more recent phenomenon in the Caribbean. For sure, visitors from North America and Europe have long written about the foodways of the region (Howard, 1918; Nutting, 1919), but only recently have tourism planners considered food in their programing and promotional efforts. Since the early 2000’s various Caribbean islands have promoted food festivals and shows, as documented in a report by the Acorn Consulting Group (Acorn, 2008). The report found that 19 of the 23 countries they surveyed engaged in some aspect of culinary tourism broadly defined, and concluded that the region must work harder if it is to successfully compete with other areas that have more developed and sophisticated culinary tourism products and promotions (Acorn, 2008). The popular website FoodReference.com shows twelve Caribbean countries that listed culinary events on their events calendar, while six countries promoted had links under the ‘Restaurants’ and ‘Dining’ headings. Another popular website is the Caribbean travel section on About.com where the Caribbean calendar link lists major monthly events

137Introduction

in the Caribbean. Again none of the events could be considered culinary events. These websites attract millions of viewers, so the lack of information shows that Caribbean destinations are missing a great opportunity to promote culinary tourism.

To better understand how Caribbean destinations define and implement culinary tourism programs, we contacted tourism representatives in St. Maarten and Jamaica in December 2011. St. Maarten is the Dutch-speaking half of the island, while St. Martin is its French-speaking counterpart. Jamaica is the largest English speaking island in the region and has a well-established tourism industry. Because the study was in the exploratory stage, our interviews were unstructured and informal. We sought answers on how they defined culinary tourism in their countries, and the types of programs and promotions they conducted. Below is a summary of the information received.

The representative from St. Maarten said the destination had designated itself the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’ to reflect the variety of ethnic restaurants on the island. The destination targets mainly European travelers. The destination claimed 367 restaurants, most of which were located in all-inclusive hotels. While they do not have other culinary tourism activities, they planned to host the island’s first culinary festival, ‘Fete de la Cuisine,’ in November 2012. For the festival, they expect to attract celebrity chefs and people in the entertainment industry.

The Jamaican official said that Jamaica was actively developing its culinary program, and several of their representatives had recently visited countries outside the region with established culinary programs. They learned best practices by attending food and music festivals and other public events. The Jamaica Tourist Board has hosted familiarisation tours for travel writers and promoters from abroad, and offered cooking lessons with local chefs, visits to outdoor agro-markets, coffee plantations, rum factories, and observations at small farms. The Board has capitalised on Jamaica’s popularity at the Beijing Olympics and the declaration that the success of triple-gold sprinter Usain Bolt could be attributed to the yams and other ground provisions that are popular in the Jamaican diet. The Board has led promotion campaigns to China and other growing economies, and now features more food and cultural products rather than the sea and sand advertising that had dominated its marketing campaigns for decades.

While efforts to develop culinary tourism have been made in the Caribbean islands, we did not receive a clear definition of the concept when we spoke to tourism officials. This may be attributed to the fact that the definitions


worldwide are also inconsistent. That said, if a destination defines the scope of its culinary tourism programs, it is better able to mobilise its constituents to participate in its programs and promotions. The lack of good working definitions is reflected in the inconsistencies in promotions on online food and travel sites as well as in the conversations with tourism officials.While the various islands can bring travel writers and promoters agents to their destinations and included culinary tourism in some promotional material, the culinary tourism products need to be better developed. All of the Caribbean islands have long histories of cross-cultural exposure as evident in their languages, ways of life, and foods. Some islands, such as Jamaica, have diverse farm cultures, while others such as St. Maarten import much of their foods. Thus, their definitions and programs will differ, so they will need to develop culinary tourism in ways that will optimise the use of resources available to them. In short, the islands must conduct substantial research and product development similar to what is done in other destinations if they expect to seriously compete in this travel market and provide the sophisticated experiences that culinary enthusiasts expect at destinations around the world.

139Introduction

References

Acorn Consulting Partnership (2008). ‘Developing a niche tourism market database for the Caribbean.’ Accessed on October 22, 2011 at www.caribbean-vacation-for-less.com/Niche-tourism.html.Cambourne, B. and Macionis, N. (2003). ‘Linking food, wine and tourism: The case of the Australian Capital region.’ In C.M. Hall, et. al. (eds.) Food Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets . Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 268-284.Davies, L. (2012). ‘World’s 50 best restaurants 2012.’ The UK Guardian. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/apr/30/worlds-50-best- restaurants-2012-nomadu.Rand, GE, Heath, E. and Alberts, N. (2003). ‘Role of local and regional food in destination marketing: A South African situation analysis.’ Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 14 (3/4): 37-112. Howard, J. (1918). ‘Jamaica and Jamaican cooking.’ American Cookery, 22(6): 422-426.Karimi, S. (2010). ‘Culinary tourism as a destination attraction: An examination of the destination’s food image and information sources.’ Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19, 531-555Long, L. M. (2004). Culinary Tourism. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky.Nadeau, B. (2001, 9 July). ‘Now that’s Italian!’ Newsweek, 138, 2.Nazimiec, L. (2012). ‘Food tourism in India.’ USA Today Travel Tips. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at traveltips.usatoday.com/food-tourism-india-18335.htmlNutting, C.C. (1919). ‘Barbados-Antigua expedition.’ Iowa City: University of Iowa.Picaperu. (2012). ‘Peru culinary vacations.’ Accessed on April 30, 2012 at www.picaperu.com/.Romeo, P.E. (2005, June 27). ‘Travelers explore new world of culinary tourism.’Nation’s Restaurant News, 39.26.Sachs, A. (2012, March). ‘Copenhagen: The best little eating town in Europe’. Travel and Leisure, 74-81.Savage, M. (2012). ‘Scandinavian food: Why is it becoming popular in the UK?’ BBC News Magazine. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17156175.Sharples, L. (2003). ‘The world of cookery-school holidays.’ In C. M. Hall, et al. (Eds.), Food Tourism


Around the World: Development, management and markets (Vol. One, pp. 102-120). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.Shenoy, S. S. (2005). ‘Food tourism and the culinary tourist.’ Unpublished Thesis, Clemson University, SC.Smith, A. and Hall, C.M. (2003).’Restaurants and local food in New Zealand.’ In: C.M. Hall, et al. (eds.) Food Tourism Around the World: Development, Management and Markets. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, pp. 248-268. Symons, M. (1999). ‘Gastronomic authenticity and the sense of place.’ Paper presented at the 9th Australian Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education.Taiwan Service Industry Development Newsletter Bimonthly. (2008) ‘Taiwan Cuisine’ makes itself well-known internationally.’ (November): 24.Taste of Wales. (2012). ‘Wales, the true taste.’ Accessed on April 30, 2012 at www.walesthetruetaste.co.uk/.Thai Restaurants Abroad (2008). ‘Thai restaurants overseas likely to expand to 20,000 in 2008.’ Paknam Web Forums. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at www.thailandqa.com/forum/showthread.php?11058-Thai-Restaurants- Abroad. Today in Asia. (2009). ‘Food Institute spends Bt2 billion to promote Thai food.’ MCOT English News. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=8240.Webber, D. (2012). ‘Culinary tourism initiative.’ Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Accessed on April 30, 2012 at http://www.mass.gov/agr/markets/culinary_tourism.htmWolf, E. (2011, 18 August). ‘What is culinary tourism.’ Accessed on October 19, 2011 at downtowncoloradoinc.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/what-is-culinary- tourism/.Yi-chin, L., T. E. Pearson, L. A. Cai. (Jan 2011). ‘Food as a form of destination identity: A tourism destination brand perspective.’ Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11 (1): 30-48.

Contributors

Leslie-Ann Jordan – Hospitality/Tourism Lecturer, MSc. Programme Co-ordinator, Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

Jo-anne Tull - Academic Co-ordinator, Lecturer in the Carnival Studies Unit, Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. Her research interests are Caribbean creative industries, the business of copyright in small developing economies, and measuring festivals.

Dalea Bean - Lecturer at the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU), Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. Her general research interests include women and gender in Caribbean history, Jamaican history and culture and gender relations in the hotel industry in Jamaica.

Andrew Spencer - Lecturer in Tourism Management, Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His research interest focuses on the determinants of technology adoption for travel retailers with particular emphasis on the strategic management implication and leadership imperatives for owner-managers.

Densil Williams - Senior Lecturer & Head, Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. His research interest is in the competitiveness of small firms.

Lesley Hare - M.Sc. Tourism Management Student, University of the West Indies, Department of Management Studies , Mona, Jamaica. Her dissertation looked at the competitiveness of small hotels in Jamaica.

Marcia Taylor - Assistant Professor, Division of Resort and Hospitality Management, Florida Gulf Coast University. Her recent research focus is in the area of integrated marketing communication.

Clive Muir - Associate Professor and Coordinator of technical communication, College of Liberal Arts, Fort Valley State University, with academic training and work experience in Tourism. He studies historical and cultural narratives about food.

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Wayne Soverall - Lecturer in Public Sector Management, University of the West Indies, he worked as a consultant in the public sector and regionally and his areas of interest include public sector management, public policy, project development, and tourism development. Sherma Roberts - Lecturer in Tourism and is Programme leader for the M.Sc. Tourism programmes at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. Her research interests include tourism policy and planning, sustainable tourism, tourism entrepreneurship, community participation and the socio-cultural landscapes of tourism development.

Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies (JECS) Call for Papers:

Introducing ‘Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies (JECS)’

The Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies publishes high-quality articles from a range of disciplines and from trans-disciplinary perspectives, which seek to answer questions relevant to the experience of small states and Eastern Caribbean Countries. Particular attention will be given to papers that seek to compare experiences, within and across regions.

All articles published in JECS will be peer-reviewed. The following types of papers are considered for publication:

• Original articles in basic and applied research.• Critical reviews, surveys, opinions, commentaries and essays.

Our objective is to inform authors of the decision on their manuscript(s) within six (6) weeks of submission. Following acceptance, a paper will normally be published in the next issue. Please follow guidelines as set out under “Information for Contributors”

Samples of Past Essays Published in JECS:

Vol. 31 No. 4 December 2006 Voter Turnout in Caribbean Democracies by Scot Schraufnagel and Barbara Sgnouraki

Aspects of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy: How Integrated are Regional Stock Markets? By Justin Robinson

Vol. 32 No. 3 September 2007The Impact of Aging on Private Savings in the Eastern Caribbean Currency UnionBy Kari Grenade and Winston Moore

Vol. 33 No. 1 March 2008Love for Mas: State Authority and Carnival Development in San Fernando, TrinidadBy Gabrielle Jamela Hosien

143Call for Papers


Vol. 34 No. 1 March 2009Socio-economic Determinants of Infant and Child Mortality in HaitiBy Ronald M. Gordon

Media Accounts of the Integrations and Settlement of ‘Island’ Immigrants in Anglophone CaribbeanBy Carl E. James

Vol. 35 No. 2 June 2010 Gender Dynamics and Approaches to Sexuality as a Key to Well-BeingBy Annecka Marshall, Sajoya Alcott and Lorna Eaton

Samples of Past Special Issues published in JECS:

Vol. 29 No. 2 June 2004 - Tourism in the Caribbean: Image, Discourse and Product

Vol. 33 No. 2 June 2008 - The CARIFORUM - EU Economic Partnership Agreement

Vol. 33 No. 4 December 2008 - Gender and Economics in the Caribbean

Vol. 34 No. 4 December 2009 - Commemorating the Anniversary of the Conferment of the Noble Prize in Economics to Sir Arthur Lewis

Vol. 35 Nos. 3 & 4 September/December 2011 – Grenada Revolution: (30) Years After

Editorial Staff

Editor-in-Chief Dr. Judy WhiteheadManaging Editor Dr. Don MarshallPublications Secretary Ms. Jacqueline Thompson (Ag)

Editorial Advisory Board

Prof. Sir Hilary Beckles Principal, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Jacqueline Braveboy-Wagner City College of New York, USAProf. Sir Howard Fergus Former Resident Tutor and Head, UWI, School of Continuing Studies,

Montserrat

Editorial Committee

Prof. Eudine Barriteau Deputy Pricipal, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosMrs. Cynthia Barrow-Giles Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Curwen Best Faculty of Humanities and Education, UWI, Cave Hill Campus,

BarbadosMiss Beverley Hinds Documentalist, SALISES, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosProf. Nlandu Mamingi Faculty of Social Sciences, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BarbadosMr. Ivan Waterman Consultant, Barbados

The Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies (JECS) is the leading social science journal covering theEastern Caribbean area. It is published quarterly by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and EconomicStudies, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, in March, June, September and December.Established in 1975 as the Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs, it was upgraded to a full peer reviewacademic journal from Volume 22, 1997. The JECS is concerned with critical and methodological

Subscription Rates are: Barbados BDS$115.00 rep volume BDS$29.00 per issueCaribbean US$82.00 rep volume US$21.00 per issueInternational rep volume US$27.00 per issue

Air Mail by special arrangement

All enquiries should be directed to Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Socialand Economic Studies, University of the West Indies, P.O. Box 64, Bridgetown, Barbados: Tel: (246) 417-4478:Fax (246) 424-7291: Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/salises

Cover design by Selwyn Cambridge.

© 2012 All rights reserved.Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

ISSN: 1028-8813

Dr. Len Ishmael Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, St. LuciaProf. Simon Jones-Hendrickson University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, USVIProf. Andy Knight University of Alberta, CanadaSir Alister McIntyre Former Vice Chancellor, UWI, JamaicaProf. Bishnodat Persaud Former Director, UWI, Centre for

Environment Development, JamaicaProf. Robert Potter University of Reading, United KingdomProf. Rhoda Reddock UWI,

Trinidad & TobagoProf. Selwyn Ryan SALISES, UWI, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad & TobagoSir Dwight Venner Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, St. Kitts and NevisDr. DeLisle Worrell Governor, Central Bank of Barbados

Institute of Gender and Development Studies,

inquiries into the political, social, economical, business and environmental challenges of Eastern Caribbeancountries and small states.

US$105.00

Information for Contributors

Presentation

Most articles submitted for publication should be less than 9000 words, with an abstract of no more than 100 words, setting out the main concerns and findings along with key words of the article. Authors should submit:

a. Two copies of manuscripts including references, with double-spaced typing on one side of each page only; andb. Brief biographical notes with full name and associated organisation, on a separate pagec. A copy of the article electronically in Microsoft Word.

It is assumed that authors will keep a copy of their paper. Address all communications and manuscript submissions to: The Managing Editor, Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, UWI, Cave Hill Campus, BARBADOS. The telephone number is (246) 417-4478, the fax number is (246) 424-7291 and the email address is [email protected]. Upon acceptance of an article for publication contributors should again submit a copy electronically in Microsoft Word when all final alterations have been made from referees report.

Copyright

Contributors are reminded that the articles are accepted with the understanding that they do not in any way infringe on any existing copyright, and further, that the contributor or contributors will indemnify the publisher regarding any such breach. By submitting their manuscript, the authors agree that the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute their articles have been given to the Publishers, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other similar reproductions.

Refereeing of Articles

All articles submitted to the Journal will be anonymously reviewed to determine their suitability for publication.The final decision regarding publication rests with the Editorial Committee. Unaccepted articles will not bereturned.

REFERENCES

References to other publications should be cited thus:a. References to articles:

Author’s name (last name followed by initials or first names); the year of publication in brackets; the title of the article (in single quotation marks); the name of the publication (in italics); volume number; issue number (in brackets) followed by a colon; then the page numbers. For an article in a newspaper:The name of the newspaper; the year (in brackets); the title of the article (in single quotation marks); the day and month (in brackets) followed by a colon; then the page number (s).

b. References to books, monographs or reports:Author’s name (last name followed by initials or first names); the year of publication in brackets; the titleof the book (in italics); place of publication (followed by a colon); name of publisher; page numbers ifappropriate.

Please do not abbreviate the titles of journals and the names of publishers.

CHARTS, DIAGRAMS, FIGURES AND TABLES

We prefer essays that can incorporate empirical findings in the overall discussion, rather than an excessive reliance on graphs, tables or appendices. If necessary, we would wish that these be kept to a minimum and be submitted on separate sheets of paper. Please be reminded however of the difficulties associated with reproducing such for our readership.

The Editorial staff reserves the right to make any corrections or alterations considered necessary. Authors willreceive two complimentary copies of the Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies.

JOURNALOF EASTERNCARIBBEAN

STUDIES

Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies

Vol. 37, No.3 &

4, September/D

ecember 2012

CONTENTS

SPECIAL ISSUE



Articles Page

IntroductionLeslie-Ann Jordan 1

REDjet Airborne: Policy Implications for Intra-Regional Travel, Air Transport and Caribbean Tourism Development

Wayne Soverall 6

Gathering Festival Statistics: Theoretical Platforms and their Relevance to Building a Global Rubric

Jo-anne Tull 40

Competitiveness of Small Hotels in Jamaica: An exploratoryanalysis

Densil Williams and Lesley Hare 71

Assessing Gender Depictions in Jamaican Hotels through theLens of Entertainment Coordinators: An application of Butler’sTheory of Performativity to the study of Creative Industries

Dalea Bean and Andrew Spencer 97

Assessing the Potential of Diaspora TourismSherma Roberts 115

Commentary

Towards Defining Culinary Tourism in the CaribbeanMarcia Taylor and Clive Muir 133

Contributors 141


Vol. 37, No.3 & 4, September/December 2012

Documents

JOURNAL OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STUDIES